Selection of a serving node in a wireless communication system

ABSTRACT

Some aspects of the disclosure provide various methods, apparatuses and computer-readable medium configured for wireless communication. A method operable at a user equipment (UE) may include transmitting a connection request message configured to request initial connection with a radio access network (RAN) node. The connection request message may include information configured to indicate a service profile of the UE. A method operable at the RAN node may include receiving the connection request message from the UE. The connection request message may include information configured to indicate the service profile of the UE. A method operable at a serving node may include receiving a connection request message from the RAN node. The connection request message may be configured to establish communication with the UE and may include a service profile corresponding to the UE.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. provisionalpatent application No. 62/065,514, filed in the United States Patent andTrademark Office on Oct. 17, 2014, the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth below and for allapplicable purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems and,more particularly, to selection of a serving node in a wirelesscommunication system.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Such wireless technologies have undergone many stages ofimprovement in various telecommunication standards, each providingprotocols that enable various wireless devices to communicate on amunicipal, national, regional, and global level. Such wirelesscommunication system may include various components, such as a userequipment (UE), a radio access network (RAN) node, and a serving node.An example of an existing telecommunication standard is Long TermEvolution (LTE), which may also be known as an evolved packet system(EPS). In LTE, the RAN node may be an evolved Node B (eNB), and theserving node may be a Mobility Management Entity (MME).

In existing communication systems (e.g., LTE), selection of the servingnode (e.g., MME) may be performed in part based on load balancing. Loadbalancing may avoid disproportionate overloading of one serving noderelative to another serving node. However, existing communicationsystems may not best accommodate the complexities introduced by thedevice types and/or services operable at various UEs. Accordingly,existing communication systems may benefit from features that betteraccommodate such complexities and provide further enhancements to theoverall user experience.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects ofthe present disclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding ofsuch aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of allcontemplated features of the disclosure, and is intended neither toidentify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure norto delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its solepurpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of thedisclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

In an aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of wirelesscommunication operable at a user equipment (UE). The method may includetransmitting a connection request message configured to request initialconnection with a radio access network (RAN) node, and the connectionrequest message may include information configured to indicate a serviceprofile of the UE. Some aspects of the present disclosure provide a UEconfigured for wireless communication. The UE may include a transceiver,a memory, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to thetransceiver and the memory. The at least one processor may be configuredto utilize the transceiver to transmit a connection request messageconfigured to request initial connection with a RAN node, and theconnection request message may include information configured toindicate a service profile of the UE. Some aspects of the presentdisclosure provide a computer-readable medium includingcomputer-executable code. The computer-executable code may be configuredfor transmitting a connection request message configured to requestinitial connection with a RAN node, and the connection request messagemay include information configured to indicate a service profile of theUE. Some aspects of the present disclosure provide a UE configured forwireless communication. The UE may include means for transmitting aconnection request message configured to request initial connection witha RAN node, and the connection request message comprising informationconfigured to indicate a service profile of the UE.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of wirelesscommunication operable at a RAN node. The method may include receiving aconnection request message from a UE, and the connection request messagemay include information configured to indicate a service profile of theUE. The method may also include selecting a serving node for the UE atleast in part based on the service profile of the UE. The method mayalso include forwarding the connection request message to the selectedserving node. Some aspects of the present disclosure provide a RAN nodeconfigured for wireless communication. The RAN node may include atransceiver, a memory, and at least one processor communicativelycoupled to the transceiver and the memory. The at least one processormay be configured to utilize the transceiver to receive a connectionrequest message from a UE, and the connection request message mayinclude information configured to indicate a service profile of the UE.The at least one processor may be further configured to select a servingnode for the UE at least in part based on the service profile of the UE.The at least one processor may be further configured to utilize thetransceiver to forward the connection request message to the selectedserving node. Some aspects of the present disclosure provide acomputer-readable medium including computer-executable code. Thecomputer-executable code may be configured for receiving a connectionrequest message from a UE, and the connection request message mayinclude information configured to indicate a service profile of the UE.The computer-executable code may be further configured for selecting aserving node for the UE at least in part based on the service profile ofthe UE. The computer-executable code may be further configured forforwarding the connection request message to the selected serving node.Some aspects of the present disclosure provide a RAN node configured forwireless communication. The RAN node may include means for receiving aconnection request message from a UE, and the connection request messagemay include information configured to indicate a service profile of theUE. The RAN node may also include means for selecting a serving node forthe UE at least in part based on the service profile of the UE. The RANnode may also include means for forwarding the connection requestmessage to the selected serving node.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method ofwireless communication operable at a serving node. The method mayinclude receiving a connection request message from a RAN node, and theconnection request message may be configured to establish communicationwith a UE and may include a service profile corresponding to the UE. Themethod may also include determining an identifier for the UE, and theidentifier may be a function of the service profile corresponding to theUE. The method may also include transmitting a connection accept messageto the RAN node, and the connection accept message may include theidentifier for the UE. Some aspects of the present disclosure provide aserving node configured for wireless communication. The serving node mayinclude a transceiver, a memory, and at least one processorcommunicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The at leastone processor may be configured to utilize the transceiver to receive aconnection request message from a RAN node, and the connection requestmessage may be configured to establish communication with a UE and mayinclude a service profile corresponding to the UE. The at least oneprocessor may be further configured to determine an identifier for theUE, and the identifier may be a function of the service profilecorresponding to the UE. The at least one processor may be furtherconfigured to utilize the transceiver to transmit a connection acceptmessage to the RAN node, and the connection accept message may includethe identifier for the UE. Some aspects of the present disclosureprovide a computer-readable medium including computer-executable code.The computer-executable code may be configured for receiving aconnection request message from a RAN node, and the connection requestmessage may be configured to establish communication with a UE and mayinclude a service profile corresponding to the UE. Thecomputer-executable code may be further configured for determining anidentifier for the UE, and the identifier may be a function of theservice profile corresponding to the UE. The computer-executable codemay be configured for transmitting a connection accept message to theRAN node, and the connection accept message may include the identifierfor the UE. Some aspects of the present disclosure provide a servingnode configured for wireless communication. The serving node may includemeans for receiving a connection request message from a RAN node, andthe connection request message may be configured to establishcommunication with a UE and may include a service profile correspondingto the UE. The serving node may also include means for determining anidentifier for the UE, and the identifier may be a function of theservice profile corresponding to the UE. The serving node may alsoinclude means for transmitting a connection accept message to the RANnode, and the connection accept message may include the identifier forthe UE.

These and other aspects of the invention will become more fullyunderstood upon a review of the detailed description, which follows.Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present disclosure willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present disclosure may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present disclosurecan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the disclosurediscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network architecturefor an evolved packet system (EPS) according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an access networkaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a downlink (DL) framestructure in an EPS network according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink (UL) framestructure in the EPS network according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a radio protocolarchitecture for the user and control planes according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a radio access network(RAN) node and user equipment (UE) in an access network according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network topology forthe EPS network according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network architectureaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of communicationestablishment between a RAN node and a serving node according to someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of communicationestablishment between a UE and various components of a network accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of serving node reselectionaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of various methods and/orprocesses operable at a UE.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating another example of various methodsand/or processes operable at a UE.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of various methods and/orprocesses operable at a RAN node.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of various methods and/orprocesses operable at a serving node.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation of a UE including a processing system.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation of a RAN node including a processing system.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation of a serving node including a processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.In an effort to provide various non-limiting examples to illustrate someof the aspects of the present disclosure, the description below maydescribe some features and embodiments in the context of a long-termevolution (LTE) architecture as it might be defined according to thethird generation partnership project (3GPP). However, any LTE-specificterminology or entities are merely provided as non-limiting examples,and some aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in anysuitable network or technology.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network architecturefor an evolved packet system (EPS) 100 according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure. The network architecture of the EPS 100 may bean LTE network architecture or any other network architecture withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure. The EPS 100 mayinclude one or more user equipment (UE) 102, an Evolved Universal MobileTelecommunications Systems (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network(E-UTRAN) 104, an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 110, a Home SubscriberServer (HSS) 120, and an Operator's IP Services 122. The EPS 100 caninterconnect with other access networks (not shown). The EPS 100provides packet-switched services; however, as those skilled in the artwill readily appreciate, the various concepts presented throughout thisdisclosure may be extended to networks providing circuit-switchedservices.

The E-UTRAN 104 may include a radio access network (RAN) node 106. Anon-limiting example of the RAN node 106 is an evolved Node B (eNB). TheE-UTRAN 104 may also include other RAN nodes 108 (e.g., other eNBs). TheRAN node 106 provides user and control plane protocol terminationstoward the UE 102. The RAN node 106 may be connected to the other eNBs108 via an X2 interface (i.e., backhaul). The RAN node 106 may also bereferred to as a base station, a base transceiver station, a radio basestation, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic serviceset (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), or some other suitableterminology. The RAN node 106 provides an access point to the EPC 110for a UE 102. Examples of UEs 102 include a cellular phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, alaptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a globalpositioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audioplayer (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a householdappliance (e.g., a washing machine), or any other similar functioningdevice. The UE 102 may also be referred to by those skilled in the artas a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriberunit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wirelessdevice, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobilesubscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wirelessterminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, aclient, or some other suitable terminology.

The RAN node 106 is connected by an S1 interface to the EPC 110. The EPC110 may include a Serving Gateway (SGW) 116 and a Packet Data Network(PDN) Gateway 118. The EPC 110 also includes a serving node 112. Anon-limiting example of the serving node 112 is a Mobility ManagementEntity (MME) 112. The EPC 110 may also include various other servingnodes 114 (e.g., other MMEs). A serving node (SN) 112 may be a controlnode that processes signaling between the UE 102 and the EPC 110.Generally, the serving node 112 provides bearer and connectionmanagement. All user Internet protocol (IP) packets are transferredthrough the SGW 116, which itself is connected to the Packet DataNetwork (PDN) Gateway 118. The PDN Gateway 118 provides UE IP addressallocation as well as other functions. The PDN Gateway 118 is connectedto the Operator's IP Services 122. The Operator's IP Services 122include the Internet, the Intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS),and a Packet-Switched Streaming Service (PSS).

Within the EPS 100, the serving node 112 supports a number of functionsand interfaces, including non-access-stratum (NAS) signaling andsecurity; access-stratum (AS) security control; tracking area listmanagement; PDN Gateway 118 and SGW 116 selection; serving node (e.g.,MME) selection for inter-serving node (e.g., inter-MME) handovers;inter-core network node signaling for mobility between 3GPP accessnetworks; roaming and authentication; and EPS bearer management. Detailsof these functions and interfaces may be found in 3GPP technicalspecifications numbered 23.401, 23.402, and 23.002, incorporated hereinby reference. The serving node 112 generally manages which services areactive, as well as the UE's mobility. That is, the serving node 112manages how to connect to a UE. When a UE is connected, the serving node112 knows to which RAN node the UE is connected. When the UE is idle,the serving node 112 lists the RAN nodes to page the UE.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an access network 200 inan LTE network architecture. In this example, the access network 200 isdivided into a number of cellular regions (cells) 202. One or more lowerpower class RAN nodes 206 may have cellular regions 210 that overlapwith one or more of the cells 202. The lower power class RAN node 206may be a femto cell (e.g., home eNB (HeNB)), pico cell, micro cell, orremote radio head (RRH). The macro RAN nodes 106 are each assigned to arespective cell 202 and are configured to provide an access point to theEPC 110 for all the UEs 102 in the cells 202. There is no centralizedcontroller in this example of an access network 200, but a centralizedcontroller may be used in alternative configurations. The RAN nodes 106are responsible for all radio related functions including radio bearercontrol, admission control, mobility control, scheduling, security, andconnectivity to the SGW 116. A RAN node may support one or multiple(e.g., three) cells (also referred to as a sectors). The term “cell” canrefer to the smallest coverage area of a RAN node and/or a RAN nodesubsystem serving are particular coverage area. Further, the terms “RANnode,” “eNB,” “base station,” and/or “cell” may be used interchangeablyherein without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

The modulation and multiple access scheme employed by the access network200 may vary depending on the particular telecommunications standardbeing deployed. In LTE applications, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) is used on the downlink (DL) and single carrierfrequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) is used on the uplink (UL)to support both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex(TDD). As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate from thedetailed description to follow, the various concepts presented hereinare well suited for LTE applications. However, these concepts may bereadily extended to other telecommunication standards employing othermodulation and multiple access techniques. By way of example, theseconcepts may be extended to Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) or UltraMobile Broadband (UMB). EV-DO and UMB are air interface standardspromulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) as partof the CDMA2000 family of standards and employs CDMA to providebroadband Internet access to mobile stations. These concepts may also beextended to Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) employingWideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA, such as TD-SCDMA;Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) employing TDMA; andEvolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE802.20, and Flash-OFDM employing OFDMA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSMare described in documents from the 3GPP organization. CDMA2000 and UMBare described in documents from the 3GPP2 organization. The actualwireless communication standard and the multiple access technologyemployed will depend on the specific application and the overall designconstraints imposed on the system.

The RAN nodes 106 may have multiple antennas supporting Multiple InputMultiple Output (MIMO) technology. The use of MIMO technology enablesthe RAN nodes 106 to exploit the spatial domain to support spatialmultiplexing, beamforming, and transmit diversity. Spatial multiplexingmay be used to transmit different streams of data simultaneously on thesame frequency. The data streams may be transmitted to a single UE 102to increase the data rate or to multiple UEs 102 to increase the overallsystem capacity. This is achieved by spatially precoding each datastream (i.e., applying a scaling of an amplitude and a phase) and thentransmitting each spatially precoded stream through multiple transmitantennas on the DL. The spatially pre-coded data streams arrive at theUE(s) 102 with different spatial signatures, which enables each of theUE(s) 102 to recover the one or more data streams destined for that UE102. On the UL, each UE 102 transmits a spatially precoded data stream,which enables the RAN node 106 to identify the source of each spatiallypre-coded data stream.

Spatial multiplexing is generally used when channel conditions are good.When channel conditions are less favorable, beamforming may be used tofocus the transmission energy in one or more directions. This may beachieved by spatially precoding the data for transmission throughmultiple antennas. To achieve good coverage at the edges of the cell, asingle stream beamforming transmission may be used in combination withtransmit diversity.

In the detailed description that follows, some aspects of an accessnetwork will be described with reference to a MIMO system supportingOFDM on the DL. OFDM is a spread-spectrum technique that modulates dataover a number of subcarriers within an OFDM symbol. The subcarriers arespaced apart at precise frequencies. The spacing provides“orthogonality” that enables a receiver to recover the data from thesubcarriers. In the time domain, a guard interval (e.g., cyclic prefix)may be added to each OFDM symbol to combat inter-OFDM-symbolinterference. The UL may use SC-FDMA in the form of a discrete Fouriertransform (DFT)-spread OFDM signal to compensate for highpeak-to-average power ratio (PAPR).

FIG. 3 is a diagram 300 illustrating an example of a DL frame structurein LTE. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes.Each subframe may include two consecutive time slots. A resource gridmay be used to represent two time slots, each time slot including aresource block. The resource grid is divided into multiple resourceelements. In LTE, for a normal cyclic prefix, a resource block contains12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutiveOFDM symbols in the time domain, for a total of 84 resource elements.For an extended cyclic prefix, a resource block contains 12 consecutivesubcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive OFDM symbols inthe time domain, for a total of 72 resource elements. Some of theresource elements, indicated as R 302, 304, include DL reference signals(DL-RS). The DL-RS include Cell-specific RS (CRS) (also sometimes calledcommon RS) 302 and UE-specific RS (UE-RS) 304. UE-RS 304 are transmittedonly on the resource blocks upon which the corresponding physical DLshared channel (PDSCH) is mapped. The number of bits carried by eachresource element depends on the modulation scheme. Thus, the moreresource blocks that a UE receives and the higher the modulation scheme,the higher the data rate for the UE.

FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of an UL frame structurein LTE. The available resource blocks for the UL may be partitioned intoa data section and a control section. The control section may be formedat the two edges of the system bandwidth and may have a configurablesize. The resource blocks in the control section may be assigned to UEsfor transmission of control information. The data section may includeall resource blocks not included in the control section. The UL framestructure results in the data section including contiguous subcarriers,which may allow a single UE to be assigned all of the contiguoussubcarriers in the data section.

A UE may be assigned resource blocks 410 a, 410 b in the control sectionto transmit control information to a RAN node. The UE may also beassigned resource blocks 420 a, 420 b in the data section to transmitdata to the RAN node. The UE may transmit control information in aphysical UL control channel (PUCCH) on the assigned resource blocks inthe control section. The UE may transmit only data or both data andcontrol information in a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH) on theassigned resource blocks in the data section. A UL transmission may spanboth slots of a subframe and may hop across frequency.

A set of resource blocks may be used to perform initial system accessand achieve UL synchronization in a physical random access channel(PRACH) 430. The PRACH 430 carries a random sequence and cannot carryany UL data/signaling. Each random access preamble occupies a bandwidthcorresponding to six consecutive resource blocks. The starting frequencyis specified by the network. That is, the transmission of the randomaccess preamble is restricted to certain time and frequency resources.There is no frequency hopping for the PRACH. The PRACH attempt iscarried in a single subframe (1 ms) or in a sequence of few contiguoussubframes and a UE can make only a single PRACH attempt per frame (10ms).

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example of a radio protocolarchitecture for the user and control planes in LTE. The radio protocolarchitecture for the UE and the RAN node is shown with three layers:Layer 1, Layer 2, and Layer 3. Layer 1 (L1 layer) is the lowest layerand implements various physical layer signal processing functions. TheL1 layer will be referred to herein as the physical layer 506. Layer 2(L2 layer) 508 is above the physical layer 506 and is responsible forthe link between the UE and RAN node over the physical layer 506.

In the user plane, the L2 layer 508 includes a media access control(MAC) sublayer 510, a radio link control (RLC) sublayer 512, and apacket data convergence protocol (PDCP) 514 sublayer, which areterminated at the RAN node on the network side. Although not shown, theUE may have several upper layers above the L2 layer 508 including anetwork layer (e.g., IP layer) that is terminated at the PDN gateway 118on the network side, and an application layer that is terminated at theother end of the connection (e.g., far end UE, server, etc.).

The PDCP sublayer 514 provides multiplexing between different radiobearers and logical channels. The PDCP sublayer 514 also provides headercompression for upper layer data packets to reduce radio transmissionoverhead, security by ciphering the data packets, and handover supportfor UEs between RAN nodes. The RLC sublayer 512 provides segmentationand reassembly of upper layer data packets, retransmission of lost datapackets, and reordering of data packets to compensate for out-of-orderreception due to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ). The MACsublayer 510 provides multiplexing between logical and transportchannels. The MAC sublayer 510 is also responsible for allocating thevarious radio resources (e.g., resource blocks) in one cell among theUEs. The MAC sublayer 510 is also responsible for HARQ operations.

In the control plane, the radio protocol architecture for the UE and RANnode is substantially the same for the physical layer 506 and the L2layer 508 with the exception that there is no header compressionfunction for the control plane. The control plane also includes a radioresource control (RRC) sublayer 516 in Layer 3 (L3 layer). The RRCsublayer 516 is responsible for obtaining radio resources (e.g., radiobearers) and for configuring the lower layers using RRC signalingbetween the RAN node and the UE.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a RAN node 106 in communication with a UE102 in an access network. In the DL, upper layer packets from the corenetwork are provided to a controller/processor 675. Thecontroller/processor 675 implements the functionality of the L2 layer.In the DL, the controller/processor 675 provides header compression,ciphering, packet segmentation and reordering, multiplexing betweenlogical and transport channels, and radio resource allocations to the UE102 based on various priority metrics. The controller/processor 675 isalso responsible for HARQ operations, retransmission of lost packets,and signaling to the UE 102.

The transmit (TX) processor 616 implements various signal processingfunctions for the L1 layer (i.e., physical layer). The signal processingfunctions include coding and interleaving to facilitate forward errorcorrection (FEC) at the UE 102 and mapping to signal constellationsbased on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying(BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying(M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded andmodulated symbols are then split into parallel streams. Each stream isthen mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal(e.g., pilot) in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combinedtogether using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to produce aphysical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDMstream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams.Channel estimates from a channel estimator 674 may be used to determinethe coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. Thechannel estimate may be derived from a reference signal and/or channelcondition feedback transmitted by the UE 102. Each spatial stream maythen be provided to a different antenna 620 via a separate transmitter618TX. Each transmitter 618TX may modulate an RF carrier with arespective spatial stream for transmission.

At the UE 102, each receiver 654RX receives a signal through itsrespective antenna 652. Each receiver 654RX recovers informationmodulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to the receive(RX) processor 656. The RX processor 656 implements various signalprocessing functions of the L1 layer. The RX processor 656 may performspatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streamsdestined for the UE 102. If multiple spatial streams are destined forthe UE 102, they may be combined by the RX processor 656 into a singleOFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 656 then converts the OFDM symbolstream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a Fast FourierTransform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises a separate OFDMsymbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols oneach subcarrier, and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulatedby determining the most likely signal constellation points transmittedby the RAN node 106. These soft decisions may be based on channelestimates computed by the channel estimator 658. The soft decisions arethen decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signalsthat were originally transmitted by the RAN node 106 on the physicalchannel. The data and control signals are then provided to thecontroller/processor 659.

The controller/processor 659 implements the L2 layer. Thecontroller/processor can be associated with a memory 660 that storesprogram codes and data. The memory 660 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller/processor 659provides demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processingto recover upper layer packets from the core network. The upper layerpackets are then provided to a data sink 662, which represents all theprotocol layers above the L2 layer. Various control signals may also beprovided to the data sink 662 for L3 processing. Thecontroller/processor 659 is also responsible for error detection usingan acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocolto support HARQ operations.

In the UL, a data source 667 is used to provide upper layer packets tothe controller/processor 659. The data source 667 represents allprotocol layers above the L2 layer. Similar to the functionalitydescribed in connection with the DL transmission by the RAN node 106,the controller/processor 659 implements the L2 layer for the user planeand the control plane by providing header compression, ciphering, packetsegmentation and reordering, and multiplexing between logical andtransport channels based on radio resource allocations by the RAN node106. The controller/processor 659 is also responsible for HARQoperations, retransmission of lost packets, and signaling to the RANnode 106.

Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 658 from a referencesignal or feedback transmitted by the RAN node 106 may be used by the TXprocessor 668 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes,and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated bythe TX processor 668 may be provided to different antenna 652 viaseparate transmitters 654TX. Each transmitter 654TX may modulate an RFcarrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

The UL transmission is processed at the RAN node 106 in a manner similarto that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE102. Each receiver 618RX receives a signal through its respectiveantenna 620. Each receiver 618RX recovers information modulated onto anRF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 670. The RXprocessor 670 may implement the L1 layer.

The controller/processor 675 implements the L2 layer. Thecontroller/processor 675 can be associated with a memory 676 that storesprogram codes and data. The memory 676 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the control/processor 675 providesdemultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processingto recover upper layer packets from the UE 102. Upper layer packets fromthe controller/processor 675 may be provided to the core network. Thecontroller/processor 675 is also responsible for error detection usingan ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

FIG. 7 illustrates the network topology of an EPS network. Inparticular, FIG. 7 illustrates certain aspects of mobility procedureswithin the EPS network. The EPS network may include various cells, whichmay be served by various RAN nodes (e.g., eNBs). The EPS network mayalso include various serving nodes (e.g., MMEs). The EPS network mayalso include various SGWs, which may be grouped into one or more serviceareas. For example, Service Area 1 may include SGW 1 and SGW2 as well asserving node pool 1, which includes serving node 1 and serving node 2.Service Area 2 may include SGW1 and SGW 2 as well as serving node pool2, which includes serving node 3 and serving node 4. Each service areamay include one or more tracking areas (TAs). For example, Service Area1 may include Tracking Area 1, Tracking Area 2, and Tracking Area 3.Service Area 2 may include Tracking Area 4 and Tracking Area 5. Eachtracking area may include one or more RAN nodes. The UE 102 may be in anactive mode or an idle mode. In the active mode, the UE 102 may performa handover 702 as the UE 102. In the idle mode, the UE 102 may performcell reselection 706 and/or a TA update 704. One or ordinary skill inthe art will understand that the EPS network may include any number oftracking areas, cells, SGWs, serving node pools, serving nodes, and/orRAN nodes may be implemented without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure. For example, multiple serving nodes may be includedin the service area of the same serving node pool. The service areas ofvarious serving nodes and/or MMEs may overlap with each other.

A UE 102 may roam without having to change the serving node. A servicearea may be served by one or more serving nodes in parallel. In existingLTE and EPS networks, as additional functionality for a serving node hasbeen defined in successive releases, the serving node has become morecomplex over time. In such networks, serving node selection is performedpredominantly for load balancing and RAN sharing. Such networks featuredefined serving node pools and serving node selection is based on thedevice's identifier (e.g., a Globally Unique Temporary Identifier(GUTI)).

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary network architecture 800 including a UE102, a RAN node 106, and various serving nodes 112, 814, 816. Asdescribed in greater detail above, a non-limiting example of the RANnode 106 is an eNB, and a non-limiting example of the serving nodes 112,814, 816 are various MMEs. The UE 102 may perform various communicationsin a particular RAN 820. The UE 102 in the RAN 820 may communicate withthe RAN node 106. The UE 102 may communicate with various other RANnodes (e.g., other RAN nodes 108) without deviating from the scope ofthe present disclosure. The RAN node 106 may communicate with one ormore serving nodes 112, 814, 816. A serving node may be a part of a corenetwork (CN). For example, the serving node 112 may be a part of CoreNetwork A 802, another serving node 814 may be a part of Core Network B804, and yet another serving node 816 may be a part of Core Network C806. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the networkarchitecture 800 may include various other components not illustrated inFIG. 8 without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

Conventional Initial Connection Establishment and Serving Node Selection

FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating the initial establishment of acommunication interface between the RAN node 106 (e.g., eNB) and theserving node 112 (e.g., MME). Communication between the RAN node 106 andthe serving node 112 is accomplished through a signaling interface, suchas an S1-MME interface in LTE standards. During the initialestablishment of the communication interface between the RAN node 106and the serving node 112, the RAN node 106 may transmit an S1 setuprequest 902 to the serving node 112. After receiving the S1 setuprequest 902, the serving node 112 may transmit an S1 setup response 904to the RAN node 106. Such a signaling interface may be established whenthe RAN node 106 and the serving node 112 connect to each other duringinitial provisioning. Broadly, the purpose of such a signaling interfacesetup procedure is to exchange application-level data needed for the RANnode 106 and the serving node 112 to correctly interoperate on thesignaling interface. Such a signaling interface setup procedure mayerase some existing application-level configuration data in the RAN node106 and the serving node 112 and replace that existing application-levelconfiguration data with the application-level configuration datareceived. As part of the signaling interface setup, the RAN node 106 maybe configured with a relative capacity information element (IE) for eachserving node in the pool. Accordingly, the probability of the RAN node106 selecting a particular serving node (e.g., serving node 112) withinthat serving node pool is proportional to its relative capacity. Therelative capacity is typically set according to the capacity of aserving node relative to other serving nodes, and generally does notchange frequently.

Conventional UE Connection Establishment and Serving Node Reselection

When a UE 102 arrives at the RAN node 106 and attempts to connect orattach to the RAN node 106, the UE 102 may send a connection requestmessage configured to request establishment of a connection to the RANnode 106. Such a message may be referred to as an attach request 1002.Such a message may be transmitted to the RAN node 106. If the UE 102 hasregistered with a serving node 112 (e.g., an MME), then the UE 102provides to the RAN node 106 a temporary identifier that is globallyunique (e.g., a GUTI). The identifier may provide an unambiguousidentification of the UE 102 and allow the identification of the servingnode 112 and the network. Such an identifier may be used by the networkand the UE 102 to establish the UE's identity during signaling betweenthe UE 102 and the network. The identifier may include two components: afirst component that uniquely identifies a serving node 112 thatallocated the identifier, and a second component that uniquelyidentifies the UE 102 within the serving node 112 that allocated theidentifier.

The identifier may include a globally unique serving node identifier(e.g. a Globally Unique Mobility Management Entity Identifier (GUMMEI)when the serving node 112 is an MME) and a serving node temporary mobilesubscriber identity (e.g., a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity(TMSI)). The GUMMEI may include a mobile country code (MCC) identifyingthe country of domicile of the mobile subscriber, a mobile network code(MNC) identifying the home Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) of themobile subscriber, an MME group ID (MMEGI), and an MME Code (MMEC).

If the UE 102 is not yet registered with any serving node 112, then theUE 102 does not provide information as a registered serving node entityto be forwarded by the RAN node 106 to the serving node 112. At thisstage, the RAN node 106 may perform serving node selection for the UE102. The RAN node 106 selects the serving node 112 for the UE 102 basedon the relative capacity IE, as described in greater detail above. Aload balancing function is performed based on the relative capacity ofthe serving nodes. Load balancing directs UEs entering a serving nodepool to a suitable serving node in a manner that achieves load balancingbetween serving nodes.

In some existing networks, during connection establishment signaling(e.g. radio resource control (RRC) signaling) between the UE 102 and theRAN node 106, the UE 102 provides to the RAN node 106 a certainestablishment cause IE. Among other things, the establishment cause IEincludes parameters that indicate what the connection will be used for,such as for an emergency call, for mobile-terminated access, formobile-originated signaling or data, etc. Accordingly, the RAN node 106can determine whether or not the UE 102 is configured for low accesspriority based on information received in connection establishmentsignaling and can utilize this information for serving node selection.However, this information still lacks an indication about the UE 102itself, such as a device type or services operating at the UE 102, whichcan better improve serving node selection.

Once the RAN node 106 has selected the serving node 112, the RAN node106 transmits an initial UE message to the selected serving node 112.That is, over the signaling interface (e.g., an S1-MME interface), theRAN node 106 transmits the initial UE message to transfer informationcorresponding to the UE's connection request message to the serving node112. This message may include a NAS message (e.g., an attach requestmessage), the UE signaling reference ID, and other S1 (i.e., signalinginterface) addressing information. The serving node 112 may utilize theidentifier in the initial UE message to determine if the serving node112 has an existing UE context. The serving node 112 begins to create aUE context by storing the UE network capability information, a PacketData Network (PDN) connectivity request, etc., which are used laterduring security activation and bearer establishment. The serving node112 replies to the RAN node 106 with an NAS Attach Accept message. TheRAN node 106 may then transfer a message with the NAS Attach Acceptreceived from the serving node to the UE 102 (unless this message istransferred to the UE 102 another way). When the UE 102 moves away fromthe selected serving node's service area, the selected serving nodeperforms serving node selection on behalf of the UE 102.

Enhanced Initial Connection Establishment and Serving Node Selection

According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the setup procedurefor establishing a new signaling interface (e.g., an S1-MME connection)between a RAN node 106 and a serving node 112 may be modified orenhanced to include one or more additional information elements. Forexample, referring to FIG. 9, in some aspects of the present disclosure,the S1 setup request from the RAN node 106 to the serving node 112 mayindicate information about the RAN node 106 supporting differenttechnologies (e.g., different RATs, different UE device types, and/ordifferent UE services, etc.), which may be useful for a serving node112. For example, in response to a signaling interface setup request,the serving node 112 may provide the RAN node 106 with informationrelating to serving node's capabilities, including but not limited to asupported device type list, a supported services list, an initial deviceidentifier prefix list, and/or a radio access technology (RAT) list.

Table 1 below provides some non-limiting examples of such parameters asmay be included in a serving node S1 setup response message.

TABLE 1 IE/Group Name Semantics Description Device type list Enumeratedlist of device types supported by the serving node Services listEnumerated list of services supported by the serving node Initial deviceEnumerated list of device identifier prefixes identifier prefixsupported by the serving node, i.e., the RAN list node may select thisserving node for devices with an initial identifier in this list RATlist Enumerated list of RATs supported for access by the serving nodeTable 1 (above) lists some non-limiting examples of various parameters,one or more of which may be communicated from the serving node 112 tothe RAN node 106 in some aspects of the present disclosure. The devicetype list may be an enumerated list of the device types that the servingnode 112 supports, and the services list may be an enumerated list ofservices that the serving node 112 supports.

Some non-limiting examples of services supported by the UE 102 include adata service, a voice service, a video service, an Internet service, andany other suitable service operable on the UE 102. The initial deviceidentifier prefix list may be an enumerated list of device identifierprefixes that the serving node 112 supports. The RAN node 106 may selectthis serving node 112 for devices or UEs 102 that have an initialidentifier that appears in this list. The RAT list may be an enumeratedlist of RATs supported for access by the serving node 112. That is, aparticular serving node 112 might not only serve different device types;in some aspects of the present disclosure, different serving nodes mayalso serve different RATs. For example, one serving node may servefifth-generation (5G) devices and fourth-generation (4G) devices, whileanother serving node may only serve Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)devices. Thus, a RAT list provided by the serving node can assist inserving node selection. Such parameters, in addition to one or moreother parameters corresponding to the serving node 112 (e.g., therelative capacity IE) may be provided from the serving node 112 to theRAN node 106 in the S1 setup response 904. In this way, the RAN node 106may store in its memory these parameters regarding the serving node 112.Such parameters may be utilized upon connection with the UE 102 forserving node selection.

In some aspects of the present disclosure, the S1 setup response message904 transmitted from the serving node 112 to the RAN node 106 mayinclude one or more device identifier prefixes supported by the servingnode 112. That is, the UE 102 may implicitly indicate its device type bymeans of a portion of its device identifier. Here, by storing a list ofsupported device identifier prefixes for the serving node 112, the RANnode 106 may select this serving node 112 for UEs that indicate anidentifier within such a list. In some other aspects of the presentdisclosure, in addition or alternative to the S1 setup response message904, the serving node 112 parameters described above may be provided tothe RAN node 106 utilizing operation and maintenance (OAM) configurationmessaging. That is, the parameters listed in Table 1 (above) may beincluded in one or both of the S1 setup response 904 and/or the OAMsignaling in some configurations of the present disclosure.

Enhanced UE Connection Establishment

FIG. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating an initial connectionestablishment procedure between the UE 102 and the EPS network accordingto some aspects of the present disclosure. The UE 102 may select a corenetwork from among a plurality of core networks or virtualized corenetworks, e.g., in accordance with a network identifier, such as thePLMN-ID. Prior to attempting to attach to a particular RAN node 106, theUE 102 may initially determine the RAN node 106 to which it wishes toattach. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the UE 102may be enabled to determine whether the RAN node 106 has a signalinginterface (e.g., an S1-MME interface) with serving nodes that arecapable of supporting the device type and/or services corresponding tothat UE 102. For example, the RAN node 106 may be configured tobroadcast a message or messages indicating information relating toserving nodes 112 associated with that RAN node 106. Here, thesebroadcasts may include information from Table 1 (above). For examplesuch information may include a device type list, a services list, aninitial device identifier prefix list, and/or a RAT list. Accordingly,the UE 102 may utilize such information (in addition to existingmechanisms for selecting the RAN node 106) to determine whether toattempt to attach to that RAN node 106.

As another example, the UE 102 may be configured with a list of RANnodes 106. The UE 102 may utilize suitable identifiers for the RAN nodes106. Non-limiting examples of such identifiers include PLMN-IDs,tracking area code, and/or a cell-ID, where support for device type(s)corresponding to the UE 102 is available. Accordingly, in someconfigurations, the UE 102 may be configured to attempt to attach tospecific cells according to its list of RAN nodes 106. In someconfigurations, the device type of the UE 102 may be related to theservices running on the UE 102. For example, the UE 102 may be a washingmachine that connects to a network. The washing machine may indicatethat it is an Internet-of-everything (IOE) device, and the services itruns relate to that device type (e.g., washing machine-relatedservices). However, in some other configurations, the device type of theUE may be unrelated to the services running on the UE 102. That is, aparticular device type does not necessarily imply a particular type ofservice. For example, the UE 102 may be a tablet computer. The tabletcomputer may connect the network, but the tablet may run multiple,different services (e.g., voice, Internet, data, video, etc.).

When the UE 102 does attempt to attach to the RAN node 106, the UE 102may transmit a connection request message. A non-limiting example of theconnection request message is an attach request 1002. However, accordingto some aspects of the present disclosure, the attach request 1002transmitted from the UE 102 to the RAN node 106 may include informationthat the RAN node 106 may utilize for serving node selection. Forexample, the attach request 1002 may include a UE's device ID or othersuitable identifier, one or more device type(s) corresponding to the UE102, one or more service(s) that may be utilized by the UE 102. Forexample, the UE 102 may transmit an attach request 1002 that includes a‘service profile’ of the UE 102. The service profile may be configuredto indicate one or more of a device type of the UE 102 and/or one ormore services operational at the UE 102. In some aspects of the presentdisclosure, the device type indication from the UE 102 to the RAN node106 for serving node selection by the RAN node 106 may be explicitand/or implicit.

With regard to an implicit indication of the UE's device type, the RANnode 106 may select a serving node 112 for the UE 102 in accordance withthe indication of a UE identifier. An identifier signaled by the UE 102and utilized for serving node selection may be any suitable identifier,including but not limited to the UE's International Mobile SubscriberIdentity (IMSI) or a Medium Access Control Identifier (MAC-ID) of the UE102. For example, the identifier may be defined to include informationrelating to the UE's device type. The UE's identifier may be utilized bythe RAN node 106 to select the serving node 112 based on, for example,an IMSI prefix match. A list of IMSI prefix matches may be provided fromthe serving node 112 to the RAN node 106 by utilizing an OAMconfiguration or during the S1 setup signaling. Explicit serving nodeselection may exist when the UE 102 explicitly indicates the device typeand/or the services of the UE 102 required to be supported by theserving node 112 in the initial NAS message from the UE 102 when theconnection is established. In some aspects of the present disclosure,the information configured to indicate that the UE's service profile mayonly be included in the attach request 1002 when the UE 102 is notalready attached to the network. That is, the device type informationmay only be included in an initial attach message but not in subsequentconnection establishment signaling.

In some aspects of the present disclosure, the UE 102 may have multipledevice types. Such a UE 102 may perform a separate attach procedure foreach device type, thereby resulting in separate connections (e.g., oneconnection per device type). For example, a smart phone may beconfigured to connect to a serving node 112 for phone services. Thesmart phone may establish another connection for video player services.The smart phone may establish yet another connection for low-powerservices, such as a connection configured for sending logs.

The service types and the access point names (APNs) may be configured invarious configurations without deviating from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In some configurations, a particular service may map to oneor more associated APNs (e.g., Internet APN, voice APN, data APN, etc.).For example, a particular application running on the UE 102 may utilizethe voice APN and the data APN. In some configurations, one or moreapplications may map to a single APN. For example, a video applicationand an Internet-browsing application running on the UE 102 may both mapto the Internet APN. In some configurations, a particular APN may bedeactivated if no services are active for that particular APN. Forexample, if a voice-related application maps to a data APN, and the useris not currently on a voice call, then the data APN may be deactivated.APNs may be activated and deactivated based on the active servicesutilizing that APN. In some configurations, some services may map totheir own dedicated APN(s). For example, operator voice services mayutilize their own dedicated APN(s).

At block 1004, the RAN node 106 may select the serving node 112. The RANnode 106 may determine the set of serving nodes 112 capable of handlingthe device type(s) and/or service(s) corresponding to the UE 102. Thisinformation from the serving node 112 to the RAN node 106 may be storedin a memory at the RAN node 106 and may be provided from the servingnode 112 to the RAN node 106 utilizing OAM configuration signalingand/or S1 setup procedure signaling. The RAN node 106 may accordinglyselect a specific serving node 112 from the set based on such parametersas well as the relative capacity IE to facilitate load balancing acrossvarious serving nodes. In some aspects of the present disclosure, theserving node 112 may assign a GUTI to the UE 102. The assigned GUTI maybe a function of the device type and/or the services or subscriptionprofile of the UE 102. After the RAN node 106 selects the serving node112, the RAN node 106 may transmit an attach request 1006 to the servingnode 112. After receiving the attach request 1006, the serving node 112may transmit an attach accept 1008 to the RAN node 106. In response, theRAN node 106 may transmit an attach accept 1010 to the UE 102.

If a serving node (e.g., serving node 112) is to be selected accordingto a particular device type of the UE 102, then the selected servingnode (e.g., serving node 112) should generally be capable of handlingall of the services associated with that device type. For example, theUE 102 may be a smartphone. If the smartphone connects to the servingnode 112, then that serving node 112 should generally be capable ofhandling all (e.g., up to tens or hundreds of) services that thesmartphone may implement. If the smartphone activates a service that iscurrently un available or unsupported at the selected serving node 112,then the serving node 112 may perform serving node reselection toanother serving node that supports that particular service, as describedin greater detail below.

Enhanced Serving Node Reselection

FIG. 11 is a diagram 1100 illustrating a serving node reselectionprocedure according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Asdescribed in greater detail above, the selected serving node (e.g.,serving node 112) should be capable of handling all of the servicesassociated with the UE's device type. If the UE 102 attempts to activatea service currently unavailable or unsupported by the current servingnode, then the serving node 112 may perform serving node reselection(e.g., reselection to another serving node 1112). The RAN node 106 mayutilize the UE's device type and/or signaled services to select targetRAN nodes 106 for handover of the UE 102. In some configurations, theselected device types and/or services of the UE 102 may be provided bythe UE 102 during RRC signaling. In some configurations, the selecteddevice types and/or services of the UE 102 may be provided by theserving node 112 and/or source RAN node 106 at an S1/X2 handover toselect target cells for future handovers. For example, the RAN node 106may exchange the device types and/or services available from itsconnected serving nodes as part of an X2 setup procedure. Generally, theX2 setup procedure sets up an X2 interface between various RAN nodes 106(e.g., eNBs). As such, when a connected UE 102 is preparing forhandover, the RAN node 106 can limit the set of candidate RAN nodes 106to cells connected to serving nodes that support that UE's device typeand/or services. As described in greater detail above, the UE 102 maytransmit an attach request message 1002 to the RAN node 106.Subsequently, at block 1004, the RAN node 106 may perform serving nodeselection. Detailed description pertaining to such steps is providedabove with reference to FIG. 10 and therefore will not be repeated.

Various circumstances may trigger a serving node reselection procedure.In some circumstances, after the UE 102 is connected to the serving RANnode 106, the UE 102 may indicate one or more new services and/orindicate a new or different device type to the RAN node 106. If thecurrently connected serving node 112 does not support such indicatedservice(s) and/or device type(s) of the UE 102, serving node reselectionmay occur in such circumstances. In some other circumstances, the UE 102having an existing serving node connection may move in location. Becauseof the move in location, the UE 102 may change its tracking area and/ormove out of the service area of its selected serving node 112. In suchcircumstances, serving node reselection may be occur.

According to some aspects of the disclosure, the UE 102 may transmitcertain information to the RAN node 106, such as a service or trackingarea update (TAU) request. Such a transmission may include suitableinformation for serving node selection as described in greater detailabove. Such information may include, but is not limited to, a device ID,one or more device type(s), and/or one or more service(s) utilized bythe UE 102. The RAN node may perform the serving node selectionprocedure, as described in greater detail above. The RAN node 106 maycheck the device type(s) and/or service(s) to ensure they are supportedby the existing serving node 112 indicated in the device ID. If thedevice type(s) and/or service(s) are supported by the existing servingnode 112 indicated (e.g., by the UE's GUTI), then the RAN node 106 mayforward the request to the current serving node 112.

If the device type(s) and/or service(s) of the UE 102 is unsupported bythe existing serving node 112, the RAN node 106 may determine to selecta new serving node 1112. As described above, the RAN node 106 mayconsult information stored in its memory as received from the servingnodes 112, 1112 to find a suitable serving node 1112 for the UE 102. Theset of serving nodes capable of handling the device type(s) and/orservice(s) may be selected from among the serving nodes for which suchinformation has been stored at the RAN node 106. From among this set ofserving nodes, the RAN node 106 may then select a specific serving node1112 based on the relative capacity IE to achieve load balancing amongthe serving nodes.

To select a new serving node 1112, the RAN node 106 may transmit aservice or TAI request 1106 to the new serving node 1112. Subsequently,the new serving node 1112 may transmit a context request 1108 to theexisting (e.g., “old”) serving node 112, which in response may transmita context response 1110 to the new serving node 1112. In response toreceiving the context response 1110, the new serving node 1112 maytransmit a service or TAU response accept 1114 to the RAN node 106,which will forward a service or TAI response accept 1116 to the UE 102.Accordingly, the newly selected serving node 1112 may retrieve the UE102 context from the existing serving node 112 based on the GUTI. Thenew serving node 1112 may further select and assign a new GUTI to the UE102. The new serving node 1112 may assign a GUTI that is a function ofthe device type(s), service(s), and/or subscription profile of the UE102.

Various Methods and/or Processes Operable at the UE

FIG. 12 is a diagram 1200 illustrating an example of various methodsand/or processes operable at the UE 102. At step 1202, the UE 102 maydetermine whether to include the service profile of the UE 102 in theconnection request message. For example, referring to FIG. 10, theconnection request message may be the attach request 1002. Such adetermination may be performed according to many configurations withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure. In someconfigurations, the UE 102 may determine whether to include the serviceprofile of the UE 102 in the connection request message (e.g., attachrequest 1002) if the UE 102 is not already registered at the network. Insome other configurations, the UE 102 may determine whether to includethe service profile of the UE 102 in the connection request message(e.g., attach request 1002) if the service profile has changed since theUE 102 last established a connection at the network. In some otherconfigurations, the UE 102 may determine to establish the initialconnection with the RAN node 106 in accordance with a determination thatthe RAN node 106 is associated with at least one of a networkidentifier, a tracking area code, a cell-ID, or an SSID known to the UE102 to support the service profile of the UE 102 in accordance with alist of RAN nodes stored in a memory at the UE 102.

Subsequently, at step 1204, the UE 102 may transmit the connectionrequest message (e.g., attach request 1002) configured to requestinitial connection with the RAN node 106. The connection request messagemay include information configured to indicate a service profile of theUE 102. The service profile may be configured to indicate one or more ofa device type of the UE 102 and/or one or more services operational atthe UE 102. As described in greater detail above, the service profile ofthe UE 102 may include an implicit indication of the device type of theUE 102 and/or explicit information configured to indicate the devicetype of the UE 102. The device type of the UE 102 may include a voicedevice, a streaming media device, a web browsing device, amission-critical device, a low-power device, an Internet device, asensor device, and/or an IOE device. Additional description pertainingto the service profile, device type, and services operable at the UE 102are provided above and therefore will not be repeated.

After transmitting the connection request message, at step 1206, the UE102 may receive a connection accept message. The connection acceptmessage may include information configured to indicate a serving nodeselected at least in part based on the service profile of the UE 102.For example, referring to FIG. 10, the UE 102 may receive the attachaccept 1010 from the RAN node 106, and the attach accept 1010 mayinclude information indicating the serving node selected at least inpart based on the service profile of the UE 102.

In some circumstances, the service profile of the UE 102 may change. Forexample, the UE 102 may have a change in one or more of the device typesof the UE 102 and/or one or more services operational at the UE 102. Insuch circumstances, at step 1208, the UE 102 may transmit information tothe RAN node 106 to indicate the change in the service profile. Forexample, referring to FIG. 11, the device type(s) and/or service(s) ofthe UE 102 may not be supported by the existing serving node 112.Accordingly, the RAN node 106 may need to determine to select a newserving node 1112. Subsequently, at step 1210, the UE 102 may receiveinformation indicating a change in the selected serving node. The changein the selected serving node may be in accordance with the changedservice profile of the UE 102. For example, the information may indicatea change from the serving node 112 to the serving node 1112. The servingnode 112 may be changed (to another serving node 1112) because servingnode 1112 can accommodate the changed service profile of the UE 102.

FIG. 13 is a diagram 1300 illustrating another example of various othermethods and/or processes operable at the UE 102. In some configurations,the service profile of the UE 102 may include the device type of the UE102. At step 1302, the UE 102 may receive a broadcast message from theRAN node 106. The broadcast message may include information indicatingwhether at least one serving node associated with the RAN node supportsthe device type of the UE. For example, referring to FIG. 10, suchinformation may indicate whether at least one of the serving nodes 112,1112 associated with the RAN node 106 supports the particular devicetype of the UE 102. At step 1304, the UE 102 may determine to establishthe initial connection with the RAN node 106. The UE 102 may determineto establish the initial connection with the RAN node 106 in accordancewith the received broadcast message. For example, referring to FIG. 10,the UE 102 may determine to establish the initial connection with theRAN node 106 because at least one of the serving nodes 112, 1112supports the particular device type of the UE 102.

Subsequently, at step 1306, the UE 102 may transmit the connectionrequest message (e.g., attach request 1002) configured to requestinitial connection with the RAN node 106. The connection request messagemay include information configured to indicate a service profile of theUE 102. The service profile may be configured to indicate one or more ofa device type of the UE 102 and/or one or more services operational atthe UE 102. As described in greater detail above, the service profile ofthe UE 102 may include an implicit indication of the device type of theUE 102 and/or explicit information configured to indicate the devicetype of the UE 102. The device type of the UE 102 may include a voicedevice, a streaming media device, a web browsing device, amission-critical device, a low-power device, an Internet device, asensor device, and/or an IOE device. Additional description pertainingto the service profile, device type, and services operable at the UE 102are provided above and therefore will not be repeated.

In some configurations, at step 1308, the UE 102 may transmit a TAUrequest message. The TAU request message may include informationconfigured to indicate the service profile of the UE 102. For example,such transmission may include suitable information for serving nodeselection as described in greater detail above. Such information mayinclude, but is not limited to, a device ID, one or more device type(s),and/or one or more service(s) utilized by the UE 102. As described abovewith reference to FIG. 11, the RAN node 106 may check the device type(s)and/or service(s) to ensure they are supported by the existing servingnode 112 indicated in the device ID. If the device type(s) and/orservice(s) are supported by the existing serving node 112 indicated(e.g., by the UE's GUTI), then the RAN node 106 may forward the requestto the current serving node 112. To select a new serving node 1112, theRAN node 106 may transmit a service or TAI request 1106 to the newserving node 1112. Subsequently, the new serving node 1112 may transmita context request 1108 to the existing serving node 112, which inresponse may transmit a context response 1110 to the new serving node1112. In response to receiving the context response 1110, the newserving node 1112 may transmit a service or TAU response accept 1114 tothe RAN node 106, which will forward a service or TAI response accept1116 to the UE 102. Accordingly, at step 1310, the UE 102 may receive aTAU request accept message. The TAU request accept message may includeinformation indicating a serving node (e.g., serving node 1112) selectedat least in part based on the service profile of the UE 102.

Various Methods and/or Processes Operable at the RAN Node

FIG. 14 is a diagram 1400 illustrating an example of various methodsand/or processes operable at the RAN node 106. At step 1402, the RANnode 106 may receive information from the serving node. Such informationmay indicate one or more UE device types and/or services supported bythe selected serving node. Such information may also include anidentifier that identifies the UE 102. Such information may includevarious aspect described herein with reference to the service profile ofthe UE 102. At step 1404, the RAN node 106 may store such information inthe memory of the RAN node 106. In some configurations, such informationmay be received by the RAN node 106 as signaling that includes a part ofestablishment signaling for establishing an interface between the RANnode 106 and the selected serving node. In some other configurations,such information may be received by the RAN node 106 as OAM signalingbetween the RAN node 106 and the selected serving node.

At step 1406, the RAN node 106 may broadcast a message includinginformation indicating supported service profiles of a set of servingnodes associated with the RAN node. By broadcasting such a message, theRAN node 106 may provide notification to UEs about the capabilities ofthe set of serving nodes associated with the RAN node 106 to supportvarious support profiles. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the RANnode 106 may broadcast such a message to indicate the supported serviceprofiles of serving node 112 and serving node 1112.

At step 1408, the RAN node 106 may receive a connection request messagefrom the UE 102. For example, referring to FIG. 10, the RAN node 106 mayreceive the attach request 1002 from the UE 102. The connection requestmessage (e.g., attach request 1002) may include information configuredto indicate a service profile of the UE. Additional informationpertaining to the service profile of the UE 102 is provided above andtherefore will not be repeated.

At step 1410, the RAN node 106 may select a serving node for the UE 102at least in part based on the service profile of the UE 102. Forexample, referring to FIG. 10, at block 1004, the RAN node 106 mayselect serving node 112 at least in part because serving node 112supports the service profile of the UE 102. In some configurations, theRAN node 106 may select the serving node for the UE 102 by: (i)determining a set of one or more serving nodes capable of attaching to aUE 102 having a device type as indicated in the service profile of theUE 102; and (ii) selecting the serving node from among the set of one ormore serving nodes in accordance with capacity information elementreceived from each serving node of the set of one or more serving nodes.At step 1412, the RAN node 106 may forward the connection requestmessage to the selected serving node. For example, referring to FIG. 10,the RAN node 106 may forward the attach request 1006 to the serving node112.

In some circumstances, the service profile of the UE 102 may change. Forexample, the UE 102 may have a change in one or more of the device typesof the UE 102 and/or one or more services operational at the UE 102. Insuch circumstances, at step 1414, the RAN node 106 may receiveinformation from the UE 102 indicating a change in the service profileof the UE 102. In accordance with a determination that the selectedserving node does not support the changed service profile of the UE 102,at step 1416, the RAN node 106 may select a new serving node for the UE102 at least in part based on the changed service profile of the UE 102.For example, referring to FIG. 11, upon determining that serving node112 does not support the changed serving profile of the UE 102, the RANnode 106 may select a new serving node 1112 for the UE 102 because theexisting serving node 112 does not support the changed service profileof the UE 102. At step 1418, the RAN node 106 may transmit an indicationof the new serving node 1112 to the UE 102 or the existing serving node112.

Various Methods and/or Processes Operable at the Serving Node

FIG. 15 is a diagram 1500 illustrating an example of various methodsand/or processes operable at the serving node. At step 1502, the servingnode may receive a request from the RAN node 106 to establish aninterface between the RAN node 106 and the serving node 112. Forexample, referring to FIG. 9, the serving node 112 may receive an S1setup request 902 from the RAN node 106 to establish an interfacebetween the RAN node 106 and the serving node 112. At step 1504, theserving node may transmit a response including information relating toone or more service profiles supported by the serving node. For example,referring to FIG. 9, the serving node 112 may transmit the S1 setupresponse 904 to the RAN node 106, and the S1 setup response 904 mayinclude information relating to the service profiles supported by theserving node 112.

Such information may be provided in various configurations withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure. In someconfigurations, such information may indicate one or more RATs supportedby the serving node 112. The service profile may indicate one or moredevice types supported by the serving node 112. In some otherconfigurations, such information may include one or more deviceidentifier prefixes supported by the serving node 112. The serviceprofile of the serving node 112 may be provided in variousconfigurations without deviating from the scope of the presentdisclosure. The service profile may indicate one or more serviceprofiles supported by the serving node 112. Additional descriptionpertaining to the service profile is provided above and therefore willnot be repeated.

At step 1506, the serving node may receive a connection request messagefrom the RAN node 106. For example, referring to FIG. 10, the servingnode 112 may receive the attach request 106 from the RAN node 106. Theconnection request message (e.g., attach request 106) may be configuredto establish communication with the UE 102. The connection requestmessage may include a service profile corresponding to the UE 102. Atstep 1508, the serving node may determine an identifier for the UE 102.The identifier may be a function of the service profile corresponding tothe UE 102. At step 1510, the serving node may transmit a connectionaccept message to the RAN node 106. The connection accept message mayinclude the identifier for the UE 102. For example, referring to FIG.10, the serving node 112 may transmit the attach accept 1008, and theattach accept 1008 may include the identifier for the UE 102.

In some circumstances, the service profile of the UE 102 may change. Forexample, the UE 102 may have a change in one or more of the device typesof the UE 102 and/or one or more services operational at the UE 102. Insuch circumstances, at step 1512, the serving node may receive a messageindicating an update to the service profile corresponding to the UE. Forexample, referring to FIG. 11, the serving node 112 may receive thecontext request 1108. At step 1514, the serving node may determine thatthe received message indicates that the UE 102 is no longer supported bythe serving node (e.g., serving node 112). For example, the serving node112 may determine that the serving node 112 may no longer be able tosupport the updated service profile of the UE 102. Subsequently, at step1516, the serving node may transmit information to another serving nodethat supports the updated service profile corresponding to the UE 102.For example, referring to FIG. 11, the serving node 1112 may support theupdated service profile corresponding to the UE 102. Accordingly, theserving node 112 may transmit the context response 1110 to the servingnode 1112. In some configurations, at step 1518, the serving node mayalso transmit information to the RAN node 106 for the UE 102 to indicatethe other serving node (e.g., serving node 1112) to the UE 102.

Hardware Implementation of the UE

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation of a UE including a processing system 1601. By way ofexample and not limitation, the UE 1600 described herein with referenceto FIG. 16 may be the same as the UE 102 described herein with referenceto FIGS. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and/or 13. In some configurations,the processing system 1601 may include a user interface 1612. The userinterface 1612 may be configured to receive one or more inputs from auser of the processing system 1601. The user interface 1612 may also beconfigured to display information (e.g., text and/or images) to the userof the processing system 1601. The user interface 1612 may exchange datato and/or from the processing system 1601 via the bus interface 1608.

The processing system 1601 may also include a transceiver 1610. Thetransceiver 1610 may be configured to receive data and/or transmit datain communication with another apparatus. The transceiver 1610 provides ameans for communicating with another apparatus via a wired and/orwireless transmission medium. The transceiver 1610 may be configured toperform such communications using various types of technologies. One ofordinary skill in the art will understand that many types oftechnologies to perform such communication may be used without deviatingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. The processing system 1601 mayalso include a memory 1614, one or more processors 1604, acomputer-readable medium 1606, and a bus interface 1608. The businterface 1608 may provide an interface between a bus 1603 and thetransceiver 1610. The memory 1614, the one or more processors 1604, thecomputer-readable medium 1606, and the bus interface 1608 may beconnected together via the bus 1603. The processor 1604 may becommunicatively coupled to the transceiver 1610 and/or the memory 1614.

The processor 1604 may include a reception circuit 1620, a controlcircuit 1621, a transmission circuit 1622 and/or other circuits 1623.Generally, the reception circuit 1620, the control circuit 1621, thetransmission circuit 1622 and/or the other circuits 1623 may,individually or collectively, include various hardware components and/orsoftware modules that can perform and/or enable any one or more of thefunctions, methods, operations, processes, features and/or aspectsdescribed herein with reference to a UE.

In some configurations, the control circuit 1621 may be configured todetermine whether to include a service profile of the UE 1600 in aconnection request message. Such a determination may be performedaccording to many configurations described in greater detail herein. Forexample, the control circuit 1621 may perform such a determination ifthe UE 1600 is not already registered at the network. As anotherexample, the control circuit 1620 may perform such a determination ifthe service profile has changed since the UE 1600 last established aconnection at the network. As yet another example, the control circuit1620 may perform such a determination in accordance with a determinationthat a RAN node is associated with at least one of a network identifier,a tracking area code, a cell-ID, or an SSID known to the UE 1600 tosupport the service profile of the UE 1600 in accordance with a list ofRAN nodes stored in a memory at the UE 1600.

The transmission circuit 1622 may be configured to utilize thetransceiver 1610 to transmit the connection request message, wherein theconnection request message is configured to request initial connectionwith the RAN node. The connection request message may includeinformation configured to indicate a service profile of the UE 1600. Theservice profile may be configured to indicate one or more of a devicetype of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operational at the UE1600. As described in greater detail above, the service profile of theUE 1600 may include an implicit indication of the device type of the UE1600 and/or explicit information configured to indicate the device typeof the UE 1600. The device type of the UE 1600 may include a voicedevice, a streaming media device, a web browsing device, amission-critical device, a low-power device, an Internet device, asensor device, and/or an IOE device. Additional description pertainingto the service profile, device type, and services operable at the UE1600 are provided above and therefore will not be repeated.

The reception circuit 1620 may be configured to receive a connectionaccept message. The connection accept message may include informationconfigured to indicate a serving node selected at least in part based onthe service profile of the UE 1600. In some circumstances, the serviceprofile of the UE 1600 may change. For example, the UE 1600 may have achange in one or more of the device types of the UE 1600 and/or one ormore services operational at the UE 1600. In such circumstances, thetransmission circuit 1622 may be configured to utilize the transceiver1610 to transmit information to the RAN node to indicate the change inthe service profile. The RAN node may need to determine to select a newserving node. Accordingly, the reception circuit 1620 may be configuredto utilize the transceiver 1610 to receive information indicating achange in the selected serving node. The change in the selected servingnode may be in accordance with the changed service profile of the UE1600. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the information mayindicate a change from one serving node 112 to another serving node 1112because the other serving node 1112 can accommodate the changed serviceprofile.

In some configurations, the reception circuit 1620 may be configured toreceive a broadcast message from the RAN node. The broadcast message mayinclude information indicating whether at least one serving nodeassociated with the RAN node supports the device type of the UE 1600.The control circuit 1621 may be configured to determine to establish theinitial connection with the RAN node in accordance with the receivedbroadcast message. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the UE 102may determine to establish the initial connection with the RAN node 106because at least one of the serving nodes 112, 1112 supports theparticular device type of the UE 102. The transmission circuit 1622 maybe configured to utilize the transceiver 1610 to transmit the connectionrequest message, and the connection request message may be configured torequest initial connection with the RAN node. The connection requestmessage may include information configured to indicate a service profileof the UE 1600. The service profile may be configured to indicate one ormore of a device type of the UE 1600 and/or one or more servicesoperational at the UE 1600. Additional description pertaining to theservice profile, device type, and services operable at the UE 1600 areprovided above and therefore will not be repeated.

In some configurations, the transmission circuit 1622 may be configuredto utilize the transceiver 1610 to transmit a TAU request message. TheTAU request message may include information configured to indicate theservice profile of the UE 1600. Such information may include, but is notlimited to, a device ID, one or more device type(s), and/or one or moreservice(s) utilized by the UE 1600. The reception circuit 1620 may beconfigured to utilize the transceiver 1610 to receive a TAU requestaccept message. The TAU request accept message may include informationindicating a serving node selected at least in part based on the serviceprofile of the UE 1600.

The foregoing description provides a non-limiting example of theprocessor 1604 of the processing system 1601. Although various circuitshave been described above, one of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that the processor 1604 may also include various othercircuits 1623 that are in addition and/or alternative(s) to circuits1620, 1621, 1622. Such other circuits 1623 may provide the means forperforming any one or more of the functions, methods, operations,processes, features and/or aspects described herein with reference to aUE.

The computer-readable medium 1606 includes various computer executableinstructions. The computer-executable code may be executed by varioushardware components (e.g., processor 1604, or any one or more of itscircuits 1620, 1621, 1622, 1623) of the processing system 1601. Theinstructions may be a part of various software programs and/or softwaremodules. The computer-readable medium 1606 may include receptioninstructions 1640, control instructions 1641, transmission instructions1642 and/or other instructions 1643. Generally, the receptioninstructions 1640, the control instructions 1641, the transmissioninstructions 1642 and/or the other instructions 1643 may, individuallyor collectively, be configured for performing and/or enabling any one ormore of the functions, methods, operations, processes, features and/oraspects described herein with reference to a UE.

In some configurations, the control instructions 1641 may includecomputer-executable instructions configured for determining whether toinclude a service profile of the UE 1600 in a connection requestmessage. Such a determination may be performed according to manyconfigurations described in greater detail above. For example, thecontrol instructions 1641 may be configured to perform such adetermination if the UE 1600 is not already registered at the network.As another example, the control instructions 1640 may be configured toperform such a determination if the service profile has changed sincethe UE 1600 last established a connection at the network. As yet anotherexample, the control instructions 1640 may be configured to perform sucha determination in accordance with a determination that a RAN node isassociated with at least one of a network identifier, a tracking areacode, a cell-ID, or an SSID known to the UE 1600 to support the serviceprofile of the UE 1600 in accordance with a list of RAN nodes stored ina memory at the UE 1600.

The transmission instructions 1642 may include computer-executableinstructions configured for transmitting the connection request message,and the connection request message may be configured to request initialconnection with the RAN node. The connection request message may includeinformation configured to indicate a service profile of the UE 1600. Theservice profile may be configured to indicate one or more of a devicetype of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operational at the UE1600. As described in greater detail above, the service profile of theUE 1600 may include an implicit indication of the device type of the UE1600 and/or explicit information configured to indicate the device typeof the UE 1600. The device type of the UE 1600 may include a voicedevice, a streaming media device, a web browsing device, amission-critical device, a low-power device, an Internet device, asensor device, and/or an IOE device. Additional description pertainingto the service profile, device type, and services operable at the UE1600 are provided above and therefore will not be repeated.

The reception instructions 1640 may include computer-executableinstructions configured for receiving a connection accept message. Theconnection accept message may include information configured to indicatea serving node selected at least in part based on the service profile ofthe UE 1600. In some circumstances, the service profile of the UE 1600may change. For example, the UE 1600 may have a change in one or more ofthe device types of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operationalat the UE 1600. In such circumstances, the transmission instructions1642 may include computer-executable instructions configured fortransmitting information to the RAN node to indicate the change in theservice profile. The RAN node may need to determine to select a newserving node. Accordingly, the reception instructions 1640 may includecomputer-executable instructions configured for receiving informationindicating a change in the selected serving node. The change in theselected serving node may be in accordance with the changed serviceprofile of the UE 1600. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, theinformation may indicate a change from the serving node 112 to theserving node 1112 because serving node 1112 can accommodate the changedservice profile.

In some configurations, the reception instructions 1640 may includecomputer-executable instructions configured for receiving a broadcastmessage from the RAN node. The broadcast message may include informationindicating whether at least one serving node associated with the RANnode supports the device type of the UE 1600. The control instructions1641 may include computer-executable instructions configured fordetermining to establish the initial connection with the RAN node inaccordance with the received broadcast message. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 10, the UE 102 may determine to establish theinitial connection with the RAN node 106 because at least one of theserving nodes 112, 1112 supports the particular device type of the UE102. The transmission instructions 1642 may include computer-executableinstructions configured for transmitting the connection request message,and the connection request message may be configured to request initialconnection with the RAN node. The connection request message may includeinformation configured to indicate a service profile of the UE 1600. Theservice profile may be configured to indicate one or more of a devicetype of the UE 1600 and/or one or more services operational at the UE1600. Additional description pertaining to the service profile, devicetype, and services operable at the UE 1600 are provided above andtherefore will not be repeated.

In some configurations, the transmission instructions 1642 may includecomputer-executable instructions configured for transmitting a TAUrequest message. The TAU request message may include informationconfigured to indicate the service profile of the UE 1600. Suchinformation may include, but is not limited to, a device ID, one or moredevice type(s), and/or one or more service(s) utilized by the UE 1600.The reception instructions 1640 may include computer-executableinstructions configured for receiving a TAU request accept message. TheTAU request accept message may include information indicating a servingnode selected at least in part based on the service profile of the UE1600.

The foregoing description provides a non-limiting example of thecomputer-readable medium 1606 of the processing system 1601. Althoughvarious instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) have beendescribed above, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand thatthe computer-readable medium 1606 may also include various otherinstructions 1643 that are in addition and/or alternative(s) toinstructions 1640, 1641, 1642. Such other instructions 1643 may includecomputer-executable code configured for performing any one or more ofthe functions, methods, processes, operations, features and/or aspectsdescribed herein with reference to a UE.

The memory 1614 may include various memory modules. The memory modulesmay be configured to store, and have read therefrom, various valuesand/or information by the processor 1604, or any of its circuits 1620,1621, 1622, 1623. The memory modules may also be configured to store,and have read therefrom, various values and/or information uponexecution of the computer-executable code included in thecomputer-readable medium 1606, or any of its instructions 1640, 1641,1642, 1643. In some configurations, the memory 1614 may include serviceprofile information 1630. The service profile information 1630 mayinclude data pertaining to the service profile. The service profile maybe configured to indicate one or more of a device type of the UE 1600and/or one or more services operational at the UE 1600. As described ingreater detail above, the service profile of the UE 1600 may include animplicit indication of the device type of the UE 1600 and/or explicitinformation configured to indicate the device type of the UE 1600. Thedevice type of the UE 1600 may include a voice device, a streaming mediadevice, a web browsing device, a mission-critical device, a low-powerdevice, an Internet device, a sensor device, and/or an IOE device.Additional description pertaining to the service profile, device type,and services operable at the UE 1600 are provided above and thereforewill not be repeated. One of ordinary skill in the art will alsounderstand that the memory 1614 may also include various other memorymodules 1632. The other memory modules 1632 may be configured forstoring information therein, and reading information therefrom, withrespect to any of the features, functions, methods, processes,operations and/or aspects described herein.

One of ordinary skill in the art will also understand that theprocessing system 1601 may include alternative and/or additionalelements without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Inaccordance with some aspects of the present disclosure, an element, orany portion of an element, or any combination of elements may beimplemented with a processing system 1601 that includes one or moreprocessors 1604. Examples of the one or more processors 1604 includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices(PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, andother suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalitydescribed throughout this disclosure. The processing system 1601 may beimplemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus1603 and bus interface 1608. The bus 1603 may include any number ofinterconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific applicationof the processing system 1601 and the overall design constraints. Thebus 1603 may link together various circuits including the one or moreprocessors 1604, the memory 1614, and the computer-readable media 1606.The bus 1603 may also link various other circuits such as timingsources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits,which are well known in the art.

The one or more processors 1604 may be responsible for managing the bus1603 and general processing, including the execution of software storedon the computer-readable medium 1606. The software, when executed by theone or more processors 1604, causes the processing system 1601 toperform the various functions described below for any one or moreapparatuses. The computer-readable medium 1606 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the one or more processors 1604 whenexecuting software. Software shall be construed broadly to meaninstructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whetherreferred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription language, or otherwise. The software may reside on thecomputer-readable medium 1606. The computer-readable medium 1606 may bea non-transitory computer-readable medium. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium includes, by way of example, a magnetic storagedevice (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk(e.g., a compact disc (CD) or a digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smartcard, a flash memory device (e.g., a card, a stick, or a key drive), arandom access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM(PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM(EEPROM), a register, a removable disk, and any other suitable mediumfor storing software and/or instructions that may be accessed and readby a computer. The computer-readable medium 1606 may also include, byway of example, a carrier wave, a transmission line, and any othersuitable medium for transmitting software and/or instructions that maybe accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readable medium 1606may reside in the processing system 1601, external to the processingsystem 1601, or distributed across multiple entities including theprocessing system 1601. The computer-readable medium 1606 may beembodied in a computer program product. By way of example and notlimitation, a computer program product may include a computer-readablemedium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognizehow best to implement the described functionality presented throughoutthis disclosure depending on the particular application and the overalldesign constraints imposed on the overall system.

Hardware Implementation of the RAN Node

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation of a RAN node 1700 including a processing system 1701. Byway of example and not limitation, the RAN node 1700 described hereinwith reference to FIG. 17 may be the same as the RAN node 106 describedherein with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and/or 14. Theprocessing system 1701 may include a transceiver 1710. The transceiver1710 may be configured to receive data and/or transmit data incommunication with another apparatus. The transceiver 1710 provides ameans for communicating with another apparatus via a wired and/orwireless transmission medium. The transceiver 1710 may be configured toperform such communications using various types of technologies. One ofordinary skill in the art will understand that many types oftechnologies to perform such communication may be used without deviatingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. The processing system 1701 mayalso include a memory 1714, one or more processors 1704, acomputer-readable medium 1706, and a bus interface 1708. The businterface 1708 may provide an interface between a bus 1703 and thetransceiver 1710. The memory 1714, the one or more processors 1704, thecomputer-readable medium 1706, and the bus interface 1708 may beconnected together via the bus 1703. The processor 1704 may becommunicatively coupled to the transceiver 1710 and/or the memory 1714.

The processor 1704 may include a reception circuit 1720, a controlcircuit 1721, a transmission circuit 1722 and/or other circuits 1723.Generally, the reception circuit 1720, the control circuit 1721, thetransmission circuit 1722 and/or the other circuits 1723 may,individually or collectively, include various hardware components and/orsoftware modules that can perform and/or enable any one or more of thefunctions, methods, operations, processes, features and/or aspectsdescribed herein with reference to a RAN node.

The reception circuit 1720 may be configured to utilize the transceiver1710 to receive information from a serving node. Such information mayindicate one or more UE device types and/or services supported by theselected serving node. Such information may also include an identifierthat identifies the UE. Such information may include various aspectdescribed herein with reference to the service profile of the UE. Thecontrol circuit 1721 may be configured to store such information in thememory of the RAN node 1700. In some configurations, such informationmay be received by the RAN node 1700 as signaling that includes a partof establishment signaling for establishing an interface between the RANnode 1700 and the selected serving node. In some other configurations,such information may be received by the RAN node 1700 as OAM signalingbetween the RAN node 1700 and the selected serving node.

In some configurations, the transmission circuit 1722 may be configuredto utilize the transceiver 1710 to broadcast a message includinginformation indicating supported service profiles of a set of servingnodes associated with the RAN node 170. By broadcasting such a message,the RAN node 1700 may provide notification to UEs about the capabilitiesof the set of serving nodes associated with the RAN node 1700 to supportvarious support profiles. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the RANnode 106 may broadcast such a message to indicate the supported serviceprofiles of the existing serving node 112 and the new serving node 1112.

In some configurations, the reception circuit 1720 may be configured toreceive a connection request message from the UE. For example, referringto FIG. 10, the RAN node 106 may receive the attach request 1002 fromthe UE 102. The connection request message may include informationconfigured to indicate a service profile of the UE. Additionalinformation pertaining to the service profile of the UE is providedabove and therefore will not be repeated.

In some configurations, the control circuit 1721 may be configured toselect a serving node for the UE at least in part based on the serviceprofile of the UE. For example, referring to FIG. 10, at block 1004, theRAN node 106 may select a serving node 112 at least in part because thatserving node 112 supports the service profile of the UE 102. In someconfigurations, the control circuit 1721 may be configured to select theserving node for the UE by: (i) determining a set of one or more servingnodes capable of attaching to a UE having a device type as indicated inthe service profile of the UE; and (ii) selecting the serving node fromamong the set of one or more serving nodes in accordance with capacityinformation element received from each serving node of the set of one ormore serving nodes. The transmission circuit 1722 may be configured toutilize the transceiver 1710 to forward the connection request messageto the selected serving node. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10,the RAN node 106 may forward the attach request 1006 to the serving node112.

In some circumstances, the service profile of the UE may change. Forexample, the UE may have a change in one or more of the device types ofthe UE and/or one or more services operational at the UE. In suchcircumstances, the reception circuit 1720 may be configured to utilizethe transceiver 1710 to receive information from the UE indicating achange in the service profile of the UE. In accordance with adetermination that the selected serving node does not support thechanged service profile of the UE, the control circuit 1721 may beconfigured to select a new serving node for the UE at least in partbased on the changed service profile of the UE. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 11, upon determining that serving node 112 does notsupport the changed serving profile of the UE 102, the RAN node 106 mayselect a new serving node 1112 for the UE 102 because that serving node1112 supports the changed service profile of the UE 102. Thetransmission circuit 1722 may be configured to transmit an indication ofthe new serving node (e.g., serving node 1112) to the UE or the existingserving node (e.g., serving node 112).

The foregoing description provides a non-limiting example of theprocessor 1704 of the processing system 1701. Although various circuitshave been described above, one of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that the processor 1704 may also include various othercircuits 1723 that are in addition and/or alternative(s) to circuits1720, 1721, 1722. Such other circuits 1723 may provide the means forperforming any one or more of the functions, methods, operations,processes, features and/or aspects described herein with reference to aRAN node.

The computer-readable medium 1706 includes various computer executableinstructions. The computer-executable code may be executed by varioushardware components (e.g., processor 1704, or any one or more of itscircuits 1720, 1721, 1722, 1723) of the processing system 1701. Theinstructions may be a part of various software programs and/or softwaremodules. The computer-readable medium 1706 may include receptioninstructions 1740, control instructions 1741, transmission instructions1742 and/or other instructions 1743. Generally, the receptioninstructions 1740, the control instructions 1741, the transmissioninstructions 1742 and/or the other instructions 1743 may, individuallyor collectively, be configured for performing and/or enabling any one ormore of the functions, methods, operations, processes, features and/oraspects described herein with reference to a RAN node.

The reception instructions 1740 may include computer-executable codeconfigured for receiving information from a serving node. Suchinformation may indicate one or more UE device types and/or servicessupported by the selected serving node. Such information may alsoinclude an identifier that identifies the UE. Such information mayinclude various aspect described herein with reference to the serviceprofile of the UE. The control instructions 1741 may includecomputer-executable code configured for storing such information in thememory of the RAN node 1700. In some configurations, such informationmay be received by the RAN node 1700 as signaling that includes a partof establishment signaling for establishing an interface between the RANnode 1700 and the selected serving node. In some other configurations,such information may be received by the RAN node 1700 as OAM signalingbetween the RAN node 1700 and the selected serving node.

In some configurations, the transmission instructions 1742 may includecomputer-executable code configured for broadcasting a message includinginformation indicating supported service profiles of a set of servingnodes associated with the RAN node 170. By broadcasting such a message,the RAN node 1700 may provide notification to UEs about the capabilitiesof the set of serving nodes associated with the RAN node 1700 to supportvarious support profiles. For example, referring to FIG. 11, the RANnode 1700 may broadcast such a message to indicate the supported serviceprofiles of serving node 112 and serving node 1112.

In some configurations, the reception instructions 1740 may includecomputer-executable code configured for receiving a connection requestmessage from the UE. For example, referring to FIG. 10, the RAN node 106may receive the attach request 1002 from the UE 102. The connectionrequest message may include information configured to indicate a serviceprofile of the UE. Additional information pertaining to the serviceprofile of the UE is provided above and therefore will not be repeated.

In some configurations, the control instructions 1741 may includecomputer-executable code configured for selecting a serving node for theUE at least in part based on the service profile of the UE. For example,referring to FIG. 10, at block 1004, the RAN node 106 may select servingnode 112 at least in part because serving node 112 supports the serviceprofile of the UE 102. In some configurations, the control instructions1741 may include computer-executable code configured for selecting theserving node for the UE by: (i) determining a set of one or more servingnodes capable of attaching to a UE having a device type as indicated inthe service profile of the UE; and (ii) selecting the serving node fromamong the set of one or more serving nodes in accordance with capacityinformation element received from each serving node of the set of one ormore serving nodes. The transmission instructions 1742 may includecomputer-executable code configured for forwarding the connectionrequest message to the selected serving node. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 10, the RAN node 106 may forward the attach request1006 to the serving node 112.

In some circumstances, the service profile of the UE may change. Forexample, the UE may have a change in one or more of the device types ofthe UE and/or one or more services operational at the UE. In suchcircumstances, the reception instructions 1740 may includecomputer-executable code configured for receiving information from theUE indicating a change in the service profile of the UE. In accordancewith a determination that the selected serving node does not support thechanged service profile of the UE, the control instructions 1741 mayinclude computer-executable code configured for selecting a new servingnode for the UE at least in part based on the changed service profile ofthe UE. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, upon determining thatserving node 112 does not support the changed serving profile of the UE102, the RAN node 106 may select a new serving node 1112 for the UE 102because that serving node 1112 supports the changed service profile ofthe UE 102. The transmission instructions 1742 may includecomputer-executable code configured for transmitting an indication ofthe new serving node (e.g., serving node 1112) to the UE or the existingserving node (e.g., serving node 112).

The foregoing description provides a non-limiting example of thecomputer-readable medium 1706 of the processing system 1701. Althoughvarious instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) have beendescribed above, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand thatthe computer-readable medium 1706 may also include various otherinstructions 1743 that are in addition and/or alternative(s) toinstructions 1740, 1741, 1742. Such other instructions 1743 may includecomputer-executable code configured for performing any one or more ofthe functions, methods, processes, operations, features and/or aspectsdescribed herein with reference to a RAN node.

The memory 1714 may include various memory modules. The memory modulesmay be configured to store, and have read therefrom, various valuesand/or information by the processor 1704, or any of its circuits 1720,1721, 1722, 1723. The memory modules may also be configured to store,and have read therefrom, various values and/or information uponexecution of the computer-executable code included in thecomputer-readable medium 1706, or any of its instructions 1740, 1741,1742, 1743. In some configurations, the memory 1714 may include serviceprofile information 1730. The service profile information 1730 mayinclude data pertaining to the service profile. The service profile maybe configured to indicate one or more of a device type of any apparatusand/or one or more services operational at that apparatus. As describedin greater detail above, the service profile of the may include animplicit indication of the device type of such the apparatus and/orexplicit information configured to indicate the device type of thatapparatus. The device type may include a voice device, a streaming mediadevice, a web browsing device, a mission-critical device, a low-powerdevice, an Internet device, a sensor device, and/or an IOE device.Additional description pertaining to the service profile, device type,and services operable are provided above and therefore will not berepeated. One of ordinary skill in the art will also understand that thememory 1714 may also include various other memory modules 1732. Theother memory modules 1732 may be configured for storing informationtherein, and reading information therefrom, with respect to any of thefeatures, functions, methods, processes, operations and/or aspectsdescribed herein with reference to a RAN node.

One of ordinary skill in the art will also understand that theprocessing system 1701 may include alternative and/or additionalelements without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Inaccordance with some aspects of the present disclosure, an element, orany portion of an element, or any combination of elements may beimplemented with a processing system 1701 that includes one or moreprocessors 1704. Examples of the one or more processors 1704 includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices(PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, andother suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalitydescribed throughout this disclosure. The processing system 1701 may beimplemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus1703 and bus interface 1708. The bus 1703 may include any number ofinterconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific applicationof the processing system 1701 and the overall design constraints. Thebus 1703 may link together various circuits including the one or moreprocessors 1704, the memory 1714, and the computer-readable media 1706.The bus 1703 may also link various other circuits such as timingsources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits,which are well known in the art.

The one or more processors 1704 may be responsible for managing the bus1703 and general processing, including the execution of software storedon the computer-readable medium 1706. The software, when executed by theone or more processors 1704, causes the processing system 1701 toperform the various functions described below for any one or moreapparatuses. The computer-readable medium 1706 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the one or more processors 1704 whenexecuting software. Software shall be construed broadly to meaninstructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whetherreferred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription language, or otherwise. The software may reside on thecomputer-readable medium 1706. The computer-readable medium 1706 may bea non-transitory computer-readable medium. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium includes, by way of example, a magnetic storagedevice (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk(e.g., a compact disc (CD) or a digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smartcard, a flash memory device (e.g., a card, a stick, or a key drive), arandom access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM(PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM(EEPROM), a register, a removable disk, and any other suitable mediumfor storing software and/or instructions that may be accessed and readby a computer. The computer-readable medium 1706 may also include, byway of example, a carrier wave, a transmission line, and any othersuitable medium for transmitting software and/or instructions that maybe accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readable medium 1706may reside in the processing system 1701, external to the processingsystem 1701, or distributed across multiple entities including theprocessing system 1701. The computer-readable medium 1706 may beembodied in a computer program product. By way of example and notlimitation, a computer program product may include a computer-readablemedium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognizehow best to implement the described functionality presented throughoutthis disclosure depending on the particular application and the overalldesign constraints imposed on the overall system.

Hardware Implementation of the Serving Node

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation of a serving node 1800 including a processing system1801. By way of example and not limitation, the serving node 1800described herein with reference to FIG. 18 may be the same as theserving node(s) 112, 1112 described herein with reference to FIGS. 1, 2,7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and/or 15. The processing system 1801 may include atransceiver 1810. The transceiver 1810 may be configured to receive dataand/or transmit data in communication with another apparatus. Thetransceiver 1810 provides a means for communicating with anotherapparatus via a wired and/or wireless transmission medium. Thetransceiver 1810 may be configured to perform such communications usingvarious types of technologies. One of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that many types of technologies to perform such communicationmay be used without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.The processing system 1801 may also include a memory 1814, one or moreprocessors 1804, a computer-readable medium 1806, and a bus interface1808. The bus interface 1808 may provide an interface between a bus 1803and the transceiver 1810. The memory 1814, the one or more processors1804, the computer-readable medium 1806, and the bus interface 1808 maybe connected together via the bus 1803. The processor 1804 may becommunicatively coupled to the transceiver 1810 and/or the memory 1814.

The processor 1804 may include a reception circuit 1820, a controlcircuit 1821, a transmission circuit 1822 and/or other circuits 1823.Generally, the reception circuit 1820, the control circuit 1821, thetransmission circuit 1822 and/or the other circuits 1823 may,individually or collectively, include various hardware components and/orsoftware modules that can perform and/or enable any one or more of thefunctions, methods, operations, processes, features and/or aspectsdescribed herein with reference to a serving node.

The reception circuit 1820 may be configured to utilize the transceiver1810 receive a request from a RAN node to establish an interface betweenthe RAN node and the serving node. For example, as illustrated in FIG.9, the serving node 112 may receive an S1 setup request 902 from the RANnode 106 to establish an interface between the RAN node 106 and theserving node 112. The transmission circuit 1822 may be configured toutilize the transceiver 1810 to transmit a response includinginformation relating to one or more service profiles supported by theserving node. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the serving node112 may transmit the S1 setup response 904 to the RAN node 106, and theS1 setup response 904 may include information relating to the serviceprofiles supported by the serving node 112.

Such information may be provided in various configurations withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure. In someconfigurations, such information may indicate one or more RATs supportedby the serving node. The service profile may indicate one or more devicetypes supported by the serving node. In some other configurations, suchinformation may include one or more device identifier prefixes supportedby the serving node. The service profile of the serving node be providedin various configurations without deviating from the scope of thepresent disclosure. The service profile may indicate one or more serviceprofiles supported by the serving node. Additional descriptionpertaining to the service profile is provided above and therefore willnot be repeated.

The reception circuit 1820 may be configured to utilize the transceiver1810 to receive a connection request message from the RAN node. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the serving node 112 may receive theattach request 106 from the RAN node 106. The connection request messagemay be configured to establish communication with the UE. The connectionrequest message may include a service profile corresponding to the UE.The control circuit 1821 may be configured to determine an identifierfor the UE. The identifier may be a function of the service profilecorresponding to the UE. In some configurations, the transmissioncircuit 1822 may be configured to utilize the transceiver 1810 totransmit a connection accept message to the RAN node. The connectionaccept message may include the identifier for the UE. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 10, the serving node 112 may transmit the attachaccept 1008, and the attach accept 1008 may include the identifier forthe UE 102.

In some circumstances, the service profile of the UE may change. Forexample, the UE may have a change in one or more of the device types ofthe UE and/or one or more services operational at the UE. In suchcircumstances, the reception circuit 1820 may be configured to utilizethe transceiver 1810 to receive a message indicating an update to theservice profile corresponding to the UE. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 11, the serving node 112 may receive the context request 1108. Thecontrol circuit 1821 may be configured to determine that the receivedmessage indicates that the UE is no longer supported by the servingnode. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the serving node 112 maydetermine that the serving node 112 no longer supports the updatedservice profile of the UE 102. Accordingly, the transmission circuit1822 may be configured to utilize the transceiver 1810 to transmitinformation to another serving node that supports the updated serviceprofile corresponding to the UE. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11,the serving node 1112 may support the updated service profilecorresponding to the UE 102. As such, the serving node 112 may transmitthe context response 1110 to the serving node 1112. In someconfigurations, the transmission circuit may also be configured toutilize the transceiver 1810 to transmit information to the RAN node forthe UE to indicate the other serving node (e.g., serving node 1112) tothe UE.

The foregoing description provides a non-limiting example of theprocessor 1804 of the processing system 1801. Although various circuitshave been described above, one of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that the processor 1804 may also include various othercircuits 1823 that are in addition and/or alternative(s) to circuits1820, 1821, 1822. Such other circuits 1823 may provide the means forperforming any one or more of the functions, methods, operations,processes, features and/or aspects described herein with reference to aserving node.

The computer-readable medium 1806 includes various computer executableinstructions. The computer-executable code may be executed by varioushardware components (e.g., processor 1804, or any one or more of itscircuits 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823) of the processing system 1801. Theinstructions may be a part of various software programs and/or softwaremodules. The computer-readable medium 1806 may include receptioninstructions 1840, control instructions 1841, transmission instructions1842 and/or other instructions 1843. Generally, the receptioninstructions 1840, the control instructions 1841, the transmissioninstructions 1842 and/or the other instructions 1843 may, individuallyor collectively, be configured for performing and/or enabling any one ormore of the functions, methods, operations, processes, features and/oraspects described herein with reference to a serving node.

The reception instructions 1840 may include computer-executableinstructions configure for receiving a request from a RAN node toestablish an interface between the RAN node and the serving node. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the serving node 112 may receive anS1 setup request 902 from the RAN node 106 to establish an interfacebetween the RAN node 106 and the serving node 112. The transmissioninstructions 1842 may include computer-executable instructions configurefor transmitting a response including information relating to one ormore service profiles supported by the serving node. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 9, the serving node 112 may transmit the S1 setupresponse 904 to the RAN node 106, and the S1 setup response 904 mayinclude information relating to the service profiles supported by theserving node 112.

Such information may be provided in various configurations withoutdeviating from the scope of the present disclosure. In someconfigurations, such information may indicate one or more RATs supportedby the serving node. The service profile may indicate one or more devicetypes supported by the serving node. In some other configurations, suchinformation may include one or more device identifier prefixes supportedby the serving node. The service profile of the serving node may beprovided in various configurations without deviating from the scope ofthe present disclosure. The service profile may indicate one or moreservice profiles supported by the serving node. Additional descriptionpertaining to the service profile is provided above and therefore willnot be repeated.

The reception instructions 1840 may include computer-executableinstructions configured for receiving a connection request message fromthe RAN node. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the serving node112 may receive the attach request 106 from the RAN node 106. Theconnection request message may be configured to establish communicationwith the UE. The connection request message may include a serviceprofile corresponding to the UE. The control instructions 1841 mayinclude computer-executable instructions configure for determining anidentifier for the UE. The identifier may be a function of the serviceprofile corresponding to the UE. In some configurations, thetransmission instructions 1842 may include computer-executableinstructions configure for transmitting a connection accept message tothe RAN node. The connection accept message may include the identifierfor the UE. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the serving node 112may transmit the attach accept 1008, and the attach accept 1008 mayinclude the identifier for the UE 102.

In some circumstances, the service profile of the UE may change. Forexample, the UE may have a change in one or more of the device types ofthe UE and/or one or more services operational at the UE. In suchcircumstances, the reception instructions 1840 may includecomputer-executable instructions configure for receiving a messageindicating an update to the service profile corresponding to the UE. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the serving node 112 may receive thecontext request 1108. The control instructions 1841 may includecomputer-executable instructions configure for determining that thereceived message indicates that the UE is no longer supported by theserving node. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the serving node112 may determine that the serving node 112 no longer supports theupdated service profile of the UE 102. Accordingly, the transmissioninstructions 1842 may include computer-executable instructions configurefor transmitting information to another serving node that supports theupdated service profile corresponding to the UE. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 11, the new serving node 1112 may support theupdated service profile corresponding to the UE 102. As such, theexisting serving node 112 may transmit the context response 1110 to thenew serving node 1112. In some configurations, the transmission circuitmay also be configured to utilize the transceiver 1810 to transmitinformation to the RAN node for the UE to indicate the other servingnode (e.g., new serving node 1112) to the UE.

The foregoing description provides a non-limiting example of thecomputer-readable medium 1806 of the processing system 1801. Althoughvarious instructions (e.g., computer-executable code) have beendescribed above, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand thatthe computer-readable medium 1806 may also include various otherinstructions 1843 that are in addition and/or alternative(s) toinstructions 1840, 1841, 1842. Such other instructions 1843 may includecomputer-executable code configured for performing any one or more ofthe functions, methods, processes, operations, features and/or aspectsdescribed herein with reference to a serving node.

The memory 1814 may include various memory modules. The memory modulesmay be configured to store, and have read therefrom, various valuesand/or information by the processor 1804, or any of its circuits 1820,1821, 1822, 1823. The memory modules may also be configured to store,and have read therefrom, various values and/or information uponexecution of the computer-executable code included in thecomputer-readable medium 1806, or any of its instructions 1840, 1841,1842, 1843. In some configurations, the memory 1814 may include serviceprofile information 1830. The service profile information 1830 mayinclude data pertaining to the service profile. The service profile maybe configured to indicate one or more of a device type of any apparatusand/or one or more services operational at that apparatus. As describedin greater detail above, the service profile of the may include animplicit indication of the device type of such the apparatus and/orexplicit information configured to indicate the device type of thatapparatus. The device type may include a voice device, a streaming mediadevice, a web browsing device, a mission-critical device, a low-powerdevice, an Internet device, a sensor device, and/or an IOE device.Additional description pertaining to the service profile, device type,and services operable are provided above and therefore will not berepeated. One of ordinary skill in the art will also understand that thememory 1814 may also include various other memory modules 1832. Theother memory modules 1832 may be configured for storing informationtherein, and reading information therefrom, with respect to any of thefeatures, functions, methods, processes, operations and/or aspectsdescribed herein with reference to a serving node.

One of ordinary skill in the art will also understand that theprocessing system 1801 may include alternative and/or additionalelements without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Inaccordance with some aspects of the present disclosure, an element, orany portion of an element, or any combination of elements may beimplemented with a processing system 1801 that includes one or moreprocessors 1804. Examples of the one or more processors 1804 includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices(PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, andother suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalitydescribed throughout this disclosure. The processing system 1801 may beimplemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus1803 and bus interface 1808. The bus 1803 may include any number ofinterconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific applicationof the processing system 1801 and the overall design constraints. Thebus 1803 may link together various circuits including the one or moreprocessors 1804, the memory 1814, and the computer-readable media 1806.The bus 1803 may also link various other circuits such as timingsources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits,which are well known in the art.

The one or more processors 1804 may be responsible for managing the bus1803 and general processing, including the execution of software storedon the computer-readable medium 1806. The software, when executed by theone or more processors 1804, causes the processing system 1801 toperform the various functions described below for any one or moreapparatuses. The computer-readable medium 1806 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the one or more processors 1804 whenexecuting software. Software shall be construed broadly to meaninstructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, softwareapplications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whetherreferred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardwaredescription language, or otherwise. The software may reside on thecomputer-readable medium 1806. The computer-readable medium 1806 may bea non-transitory computer-readable medium. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium includes, by way of example, a magnetic storagedevice (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk(e.g., a compact disc (CD) or a digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smartcard, a flash memory device (e.g., a card, a stick, or a key drive), arandom access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM(PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM(EEPROM), a register, a removable disk, and any other suitable mediumfor storing software and/or instructions that may be accessed and readby a computer. The computer-readable medium 1806 may also include, byway of example, a carrier wave, a transmission line, and any othersuitable medium for transmitting software and/or instructions that maybe accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readable medium 1806may reside in the processing system 1801, external to the processingsystem 1801, or distributed across multiple entities including theprocessing system 1801. The computer-readable medium 1806 may beembodied in a computer program product. By way of example and notlimitation, a computer program product may include a computer-readablemedium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognizehow best to implement the described functionality presented throughoutthis disclosure depending on the particular application and the overalldesign constraints imposed on the overall system.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in FIGS. 12-15 may be rearranged and/or combined into asingle component, step, feature or function or embodied in severalcomponents, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps,and/or functions may also be added without departing from novel featuresdisclosed herein. The apparatus, devices, and/or components illustratedin FIGS. 12-15 may be configured to perform one or more of the methods,features, or steps described herein. The novel algorithms describedherein may also be efficiently implemented in software and/or embeddedin hardware. It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchyof steps in the methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplaryprocesses. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged.The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps ina sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented unless specifically recited therein.

As mentioned above, several aspects of a telecommunications systemdescribed herein have been presented with reference to an LTE system. Asthose skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspectsdescribed throughout the present disclosure may be extended to othertelecommunication systems, network architectures and communicationstandards, including a 5G system or any other suitable system defined by3GPP or other standards body. The actual telecommunication standard,network architecture, and/or communication standard employed may dependon the specific application and the overall design constraints imposedon the system.

Within the present disclosure, the word “exemplary” is used to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementationor aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of thedisclosure. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage ormode of operation. The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to thedirect or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if objectA physically touches object B, and object B touches object C, thenobjects A and C may still be considered coupled to one another—even ifthey do not directly physically touch each other. For instance, a firstdie may be coupled to a second die in a package even though the firstdie is never directly physically in contact with the second die. Theterms “circuit” and “circuitry” are used broadly, and intended toinclude both hardware implementations of electrical devices andconductors that, when connected and configured, enable the performanceof the functions described in the present disclosure, without limitationas to the type of electronic circuits, as well as softwareimplementations of information and instructions that, when executed by aprocessor, enable the performance of the functions described in thepresent disclosure.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice some aspects described herein. Various modifications tothese aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, andthe generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects.Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shownherein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with thelanguage of the claims, wherein reference to an element in the singularis not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically sostated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise,the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to “at leastone of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items,including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c”is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b andc. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of someaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112(f), unless the element isexpressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of amethod claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of wireless communication operable at auser equipment (UE), the method comprising: transmitting a connectionrequest message configured to request a connection with a radio accessnetwork (RAN) node, the connection request message comprisinginformation configured to indicate a service profile of the UE, theservice profile being configured to indicate one or more servicesrequired to be supported by a serving node; and receiving a connectionaccept message comprising information configured to indicate a selectedserving node, selected at least in part based on the service profile ofthe UE.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the serving node is one amonga plurality of serving nodes in a core network, only a subset of servingnodes among the plurality of serving nodes having support for the one ormore services indicated in the service profile, wherein the serving nodeis selected from among the plurality of serving nodes in the corenetwork based on its support for the one or more services indicated inthe service profile.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdetermining whether to include the service profile of the UE in theconnection request message.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thedetermining whether to include the service profile comprises determiningto include the service profile of the UE in the connection requestmessage if UE is not already registered at a network.
 5. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the determining whether to include the service profilecomprises determining to include the service profile of the UE in theconnection request message if the service profile has changed since theUE last established a connection at a network.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the service profile of the UE comprises at least one serviceoperational at the UE, and wherein a serving node is selected at leastin part based on the at least one service operational at the UE.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, further comprising: transmitting information to theRAN node indicating a change in the service profile of the UE; andreceiving information indicating a change in the selected serving nodein accordance with the changed service profile of the UE.
 8. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a tracking area update(TAU) request message comprising information configured to indicate theservice profile of the UE; and receiving a TAU response accept messagecomprising information indicating a serving node selected at least inpart based on the service profile of the UE.
 9. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a broadcast message from the RAN node, thebroadcast message comprising information indicating whether at least oneserving node associated with the RAN node supports the service profileof the UE; and determining to establish the initial connection with theRAN node in accordance with the received broadcast message.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining to establish theinitial connection with the RAN node in accordance with a determinationthat the RAN node is associated with at least one of a networkidentifier, a tracking area code, a cell identifier (cell-ID), or aservice set identifier (SSID) known to the UE to support the serviceprofile of the UE in accordance with a list of RAN nodes stored in amemory at the UE.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:transmitting a second connection request message configured to request asecond connection with a second RAN node, the second connection requestmessage comprising information configured to indicate a second serviceprofile of the UE, different from the service profile of the UE.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising receiving a second connectionaccept message comprising information configured to indicate a secondserving node, different from the serving node, selected at least in partbased on the second service profile of the UE.
 13. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising computer-executable code, thecomputer-executable code configured for: transmitting a connectionrequest message configured to request a connection with a radio accessnetwork (RAN) node, the connection request message comprisinginformation configured to indicate a service profile of the UE, theservice profile being configured to indicate one or more servicesrequired to be supported by a serving node; and receiving a connectionaccept message comprising information configured to indicate a selectedserving node, selected at least in part based on the service profile ofthe UE.
 14. A method of wireless communication operable at a radioaccess network (RAN) node, the method comprising: receiving a connectionrequest message from a user equipment (UE), the connection requestmessage comprising information configured to indicate a service profileof the UE; selecting a serving node for the UE at least in part based onthe service profile of the UE, the service profile being configured toindicate one or more services operational at the UE; and forwarding theconnection request message to the selected serving node.
 15. The methodof claim 14, further comprising: broadcasting a message comprisinginformation indicating supported service profiles of a set of servingnodes associated with the RAN node.
 16. The method of claim 14, whereinthe service profile of the UE comprises at least one service operationalat the UE.
 17. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receivinginformation from the UE indicating a change in the service profile ofthe UE; and in accordance with a determination that the selected servingnode does not support the changed service profile of the UE, selecting anew serving node for the UE at least in part based on the changedservice profile of the UE.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein thedetermination that the selected serving node does not support thechanged service profile of the UE is based on a configuration of serviceprofiles supported by the serving node, wherein the configuration ofservice profiles is received as part of an establishment of an interfaceto the serving node or from operation and maintenance (OAM)configuration messaging.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprisingtransmitting an indication of the new serving node to the UE or theselected serving node.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein the serviceprofile of the UE comprises an identifier that identifies the UE. 21.The method of claim 14, wherein the selecting the serving node for theUE comprises: determining a set of one or more serving nodes capable ofattaching to a UE having the service profile of the UE; and selectingthe serving node from among the set of one or more serving nodes inaccordance with capacity information element received from each servingnode of the set of one or more serving nodes.
 22. The method of claim14, further comprising: receiving information from the selected servingnode, the information configured to indicate a service supported by theselected serving node; and storing the information in a memory of theRAN node.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the information from theselected serving node is received as at least one of: signaling thatcomprises a part of establishment signaling for establishing aninterface between the RAN node and the selected serving node; oroperation and maintenance (OAM) signaling between the RAN node and theselected serving node.
 24. A user equipment (UE) configured for wirelesscommunication, the UE comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and at leastone processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory,wherein the at least one processor is configured to: utilize thetransceiver to transmit a connection request message configured torequest a connection with a radio access network (RAN) node, theconnection request message comprising information configured to indicatea service profile of the UE, the service profile being configured toindicate one or more services required to be supported by a servingnode; and receive a connection accept message comprising informationconfigured to indicate a selected serving node, selected at least inpart based on the service profile of the UE.
 25. A radio access network(RAN) node configured for wireless communication, the RAN nodecomprising: a transceiver; a memory; and at least one processorcommunicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein theat least one processor is configured to: utilize the transceiver toreceive a connection request message from a user equipment (UE), theconnection request message comprising information configured to indicatea service profile of the UE, the service profile being configured toindicate one or more services operational at the UE; select a servingnode for the UE at least in part based on the service profile of the UE;and utilize the transceiver to forward the connection request message tothe selected serving node.
 26. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising computer-executable code, the computer-executable codeconfigured for: receiving a connection request message from a userequipment (UE), the connection request message comprising informationconfigured to indicate a service profile of the UE; selecting a servingnode for the UE at least in part based on the service profile of the UE,the service profile being configured to indicate one or more servicesoperational at the UE; and forwarding the connection request message tothe selected serving node.
 27. A method of wireless communicationoperable at a serving node, the method comprising: receiving aconnection request message from a radio access network (RAN) node, theconnection request message configured to establish communication with auser equipment (UE) and comprising a service profile corresponding tothe UE; determining an identifier for the UE, the identifier being afunction of the service profile corresponding to the UE, the serviceprofile being configured to indicate one or more services required to besupported by the serving node; and transmitting a connection acceptmessage to the RAN node, the connection accept message comprising theidentifier for the UE.
 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:receiving a message indicating an update to the service profilecorresponding to the UE; determining that the received message indicatesthat the UE is no longer supported by the serving node; and transmittinginformation to another serving node that supports the updated serviceprofile corresponding to the UE.
 29. The method of claim 28, furthercomprising transmitting information to the RAN node for the UE toindicate another serving node to the UE.
 30. The method of claim 27,further comprising: receiving a request from the RAN node to establishan interface between the RAN node and the serving node; and transmittinga response to the request to the RAN node, the response comprisinginformation relating to one or more service profiles supported by theserving node.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein at least one of: theone or more service profiles supported by the serving node comprises oneor more UE services supported by the serving node; or the informationrelating to one or more service profiles supported by the serving nodecomprises one or more device identifier prefixes supported by theserving node.
 32. A serving node configured for wireless communication,the serving node comprising: a transceiver; a memory; and at least oneprocessor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory,wherein the at least one processor is configured to: utilize thetransceiver to receive a connection request message from a radio accessnetwork (RAN) node, the connection request message configured toestablish communication with a user equipment (UE) and comprising aservice profile corresponding to the UE, the service profile beingconfigured to indicate one or more services operational at the UE;determine an identifier for the UE, the identifier being a function ofthe service profile corresponding to the UE; and utilize the transceiverto transmit a connection accept message to the RAN node, the connectionaccept message comprising the identifier for the UE.
 33. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executablecode, the computer-executable code configured for: receiving aconnection request message from a radio access network (RAN) node, theconnection request message configured to establish communication with auser equipment (UE) and comprising a service profile corresponding tothe UE; determining an identifier for the UE, the identifier being afunction of the service profile corresponding to the UE, the serviceprofile being configured to indicate one or more services operational atthe UE; and transmitting a connection accept message to the RAN node,the connection accept message comprising the identifier for the UE.